


Nothing Ventured

by iswyn



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awesome Frigga, Dom/sub, Fluff, Gratuitous Smut, Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Not even remotely canon compliant, Odin's not so bad, Protective Loki, Protective Thor, Shameless Smut, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, romantic BDSM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:11:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 82,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1692845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iswyn/pseuds/iswyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone at school wants Professor Stark, but he just doesn’t seem interested. When Loki goes all in for his own play, he learns that all is not quite what it seems with the object of his desires. The professor has a secret that could ruin his reputation. Can Loki handle it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plot Twist

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [Qui ne risque rien](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1769188) by [Callistontheweb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callistontheweb/pseuds/Callistontheweb)



> Okay, so this is going to end up shameless pwp, mostly D/s. Why do I keep writing D/s with these two? I’ve literally never done this before… 
> 
> No offense intended to women, the military, first grade teachers, or anyone else. Oh, and just cause it should be obvious; no, it’s not okay for a teacher to sleep with a student. I know this. That’s why it's fiction. Characters behaving badly.

So Professor Stark was a lot like Mount Everest.

He was more challenging than most of Loki’s fellow students could handle. He was absolutely beautiful. He was a wonder of the natural world. He was more than a little intimidating.

And everyone wanted to climb him.

They all failed, though. The girls tried their simpering little games with too-short skirts and ‘oops I dropped something right in front of your desk, Professor’. More than one tried to ‘convince’ him to raise her grade. The guys usually weren’t much more subtle than that. Too many shirt buttons undone, and tight jeans, and ‘sorry I accidentally touched your ass’. Yeah, subtle.

It kind of pissed Loki off, watching it happen.

They were all so juvenile and pathetic. They desperately wanted something they couldn’t have – some of them just because they knew they couldn’t have it. But Professor Stark had a reputation now. He wasn’t in a relationship. He was a genius, who had a dozen patents and probably a ton of money. And he was absolutely untouchable. The year before, the class ~~bicycle~~ beauty, Christine, had set her sights on him. She’d given up after only a month, declaring that he was ‘totally sexless.’

Because of course, even gay men wanted her, right? Ew.

The thing was that no matter how much all of them wanted Professor Stark, it was still like climbing Mount Everest. It was going to require a lot of time, and effort, and patience. It was going to require focus, and determination. It was going to require a willingness to go to any lengths.

So Loki decided that he would be Sir Edmund Hillary. No matter what he had to do, and no matter how long it took, he would have Professor Stark.

Natasha thought it was a game when he told her what he wanted. That was a little odd, since the two of them had bonded back in high school over an unwillingness to play popularity games. They just did what they wanted, and ended up gravitating toward each other. She had also seen Loki determined before. Loki always got what he wanted. He wasn’t willing to accept any less.

“Come on, Loki. This is ridiculous. Professor Stark doesn’t sleep with anyone, let alone students.”

“How do you know he isn’t sleeping with anyone?”

Natasha froze at that.

“Been considering having a go at the Professor yourself?”

“No,” she frowned at him. “Nothing like that. Clint bet me ten bucks that he was screwing Doctor Banner, so I spent a little time looking into it.”

By ‘a little time’, Natasha probably meant a few weeks. Loki did not make bets with Natasha. On the other hand, if his dear sneaky friend had spent a few weeks following the professor around, maybe she could help a little.

“You followed him home?”

“Duh.”

“And, of course, he doesn’t lay a finger on Banner.”

“Nope. Not even with the friendly hugging. They’re both really private guys, Loki.”

“A conclusion that you came to while following them around?”

Natasha smirked at him. “A fact that makes you very happy right now, let’s not forget.”

“Indeed, not.” He returned her smile, and started to lay out his plan. She pointed out flaws and helped him to polish the uncertain bits. By the time they were finished, even she agreed that it could work. She still had reservations, though.

“It’s a little nuts, though, Loki. I mean, you’re putting a lot on the line for this.”

“It will be worth it.” Winning was always worth the cost. Always.

“I hope so…”

 

 

*

 

 

The two of them breezed into the classroom half an hour early, apparently in the middle of conversation.

“…because I was tired of him inviting my dates on friendly outings, Natasha.”

She did a double-take. “He what?”

“I am not kidding. Last weekend he just ran into the restaurant, you know the Italian place on nineteenth? Where I was on a _date_ , and invited the two of us to go play pool and drink beer.”

Natasha tried to smother a very real laugh. “Well that sounds kind of like your brother. But you told him? I mean, that had to be a little traumatic.”

He rolled his eyes as he dusted off his chair and put his books down. “He was fine. Really, Natasha, he deserved a bit of a shock. He’s known me his whole life, and couldn’t figure it out? And besides that, it’s the easiest way for him to learn. It doesn’t involve him barging into my room in the middle of the night and being forever scarred.”

“Okay, point granted. Thor is a ninny, and it’s best he never sees you have sex. Remember to lock your door.”

“This is why I prefer to date men with their own apartments, Natasha.”

She laughed outright at this, and the two of them let the conversation drop. It seemed like a natural place, and it had gotten the point across. Loki pointedly spent a few minutes laying out his materials; setting his homework on the corner of the table, and readying notepaper and pencils. He was not going to check if Professor Stark had been listening.

That was Natasha’s job.

“Oh, Hi Professor Stark. How are you tonight?”

The man’s smooth, melodic voice sounded distracted. Damn. “Hmm? Oh, fine, Miss Romanova. And you?”

“Fine.”

Loki waited to be acknowledged.

“Mr. Burison.”

He looked up briefly and nodded. “Professor Stark.”

He’d be damned if he was going to be one of _those_ students. Loki was offering no simpering, no pathetic flirtation, and no botched attempts at being sexy. There was nothing less sexy than a person whose object of affection was ignoring them utterly.

He and Natasha shared a look after a few moments, and her tiny nod was enough to tell him what he needed to know. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. The Professor had heard. It was a small first step, but if he hadn’t before, he now knew that Loki was openly gay.

The next step was a little bigger, and a little harder to pull off. It was also a little more dramatic. Okay, so strike out ‘a little’ in those sentences, and it would be closer to the truth.

Loki had to struggle in Physics class.

It was quite challenging. Physics was fun for him, and had never been overly difficult. He didn’t want Professor Stark to think he was stupid, either, because stupid was the opposite of sexy. Why else would Loki be trying to seduce the smartest man he’d ever met?

Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that it was probably why women liked his idiot brother so much. Because, well… Thor wasn’t actually an idiot. Combined with being ridiculously angelic and built like a supermodel, it was a good combination. Bloody Thor.

The only way he could think of to struggle in Mr. Stark’s class was to have a valid reason to fall behind. He considered illness, but it simply wasn’t practical to fake such a thing without falling behind in his other classes. His other classes were key. Given his GPA, it wasn’t hard to convince the powers-that-were to allow him to take more than a full course load. It was perfect. Seven classes in one semester, and he would simply not be able to keep up his usual average. Whenever the overwhelming amount of classwork required that he ‘forget’ something, it would be for Physics.

Natasha was still worried.

“What if he just fails you, Loki? This hasn’t ever worked for anyone else.”

“They were never me.” She let it drop at this, only occasionally offering to do some of his homework, in case he had changed his mind.

She obviously didn’t know how determined he was.

 

*

 

Amazingly, it was only halfway through the semester when Professor Stark called him out.

“…and that’ll be due on the fourteenth with the homework already listed in the syllabus. Questions? No? Good, you guys can get out of here a couple minutes early tonight.” Five minutes, to be exact.

Mr. Stark wasn’t one to waste class time.

“Oh, Mr. Burison? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course, Professor Stark.”

Natasha smirked and leaned in to whisper to him. “You can copy my homework and turn it in next time.”

“Sorry, I have plans.”

She just rolled her eyes at him. “See you in a bit.” She walked to the door, and then turned around, chewing her lip. What was she up to? “Hey Loki?”

“Hmm?”

“Try to actually get some sleep tonight, huh? No staying up all night trying to catch up on homework?”

This was why she was his favorite person in the world. He sighed in an irritated tone. “Just go, Natasha. I already have a mother.”

Mr. Stark was putting his things into his briefcase, but Loki didn’t miss the way he paused at Natasha’s words. Interesting.

Loki calmly gathered his things, and then walked over to the professor’s desk. He hoped that he looked as though he was dreading the encounter. He was afraid there might have been too much bounce in his step for that, though.

“You wanted to speak to me, Professor?” Professor Stark snapped his briefcase shut and sat on the edge of his desk. Gods, the man was too sexy for anyone’s own good.

“I’m not going to lie, Mr. Burison. I’m worried about you this semester.”

Loki swallowed hard. It was funny, really. This was the plan. He was supposed to be failing. But Loki had never failed a class before in his life. Getting this kind of speech from a teacher had often featured in his childhood nightmares. Now that he was in the position, he was terrified.

“What do you mea…” No, that wouldn’t work. Professor Stark wasn’t stupid. He knew that Loki wasn’t stupid. “I’m sorry, Professor Stark. I know. It’s just that I… I have a bit of a heavy course load this semester. I don’t think I realized how hard-“ Oh Gods, had his voice just cracked? He must look like a child.

“It’s okay. You can still do this. Are you at least keeping up with the reading?”

Loki nodded mutely. Best not to let his traitorous voice out again just now.

“You were in that damned intro class they made me teach last year. I know that you know what you’re doing, and you can fix this. I’ll give you an open ended deadline on the homework. Just get it to me, and I’ll get you credit.”

Well damn. That made things harder. The man wanted him to pass? He’d never heard anything about the Professor having a soft streak. He’d never had a man in power go easy on him before. It was somehow… hot. Permissiveness was hot? That was weird.

“I’ll try to catch up, Professor. I will.” Was that sincerity? Fuck.

“You’re a good student. You can handle this. Just keep me apprised of where you are, and I’ll see what else we need to do to get you through this, okay?”

“Thank you so much, Professor. You couldn’t know what it means to me.”

“No problem. It’s not like you’re just sitting around a frat house drinking beer and playing Xbox. You’re the kind of student we want to do well, Mr. Burison.”

He nodded weakly, and headed out, only to be ambushed by Natasha in his car. He was her ride, of course. He really was out of it if he’d forgotten that.

“So?”

“He gave me an open deadline on homework.”

“No way! Clint failed his class last year because of late homework.”

“That’s because it was late _and_ wrong, Natasha. Face it, your boyfriend is a bimbo.”

“Why do you think I like him? He makes good arm candy. What I’m saying, though, is that Stark doesn’t help students. He lets them fail. Unless, apparently, they’re obscenely tall hot gay guys.”

He kept the smile off his face, in case Professor Stark caught sight of them. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was something.

 

*

 

The next month or so was uneventful, and Loki made a point of trying to turn in some very late Physics homework. He made sure it looked utterly ruined, as though he’d done it at three in the morning after a caffeine bender. He also made a point of waiting until after class to turn it in, and looking embarrassed when he did so.

“It’s not my best work, Professor Stark.” The professor looked it over quickly. It was so sexy when he did things like check three hours of homework in a ten second perusal.

“No, it’s not.”

Loki flinched.

“I hate to ask this, Mr. Burison, but have you considered dropping and taking the class again next semester? The professor who teaches this in the Spring is a bit easier, and presumably you’d have a lighter course load… I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a no?”

Loki had almost started to hyperventilate at the suggestion. His father wasn’t usually incredibly harsh or unreasonable, but Loki deliberately biting off more than he could chew and then giving up? Wasting a few thousand dollars on a class that he dropped out of? That would not be an acceptable move in Odin’s rule book. Thor had gotten a fifteen minute speech when he’d changed majors. It was frivolous and ill-considered, and it wasted almost a whole semester that had to be made up. And Thor was father’s favorite.

He drew himself back together as quickly as possible. “I’m afraid that failure is not an option in my family, Professor.”

“Failure is… Okay, you realize that you’re looking at an actual failure if you keep going, right? Like, an F on your transcript? There are better ways to do this.”

“I can catch up over Thanksgiving break.”

“No one ever does that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you have the best of intentions, but literally no one has ever done that in the ten years I’ve been teaching.”

“I can do it. I’ll just need to find somewhere to study that my idiot brother can’t find me. He’d spend all week trying to force me out to socialize.” The Professor laughed at that, and Loki’s breath caught. He’d never seen the way the man’s eyes lit when he laughed. The way one corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other… Oh dear. This was getting serious. Maybe Loki should take a step back and think about things before-

“You can come here. I’ll be doing some work that week, so my office will be unlocked. You can sit in there, and all the resources you might need will already be there too.”

Oh gods. Alone at school for a week with the Professor.

“You’re amazing, Professor!”

“Hey now, nothing amazing. I just recognize ‘my father is going to be pissed at me’ face.” He patted Loki on the shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sure he means as well as my old man did. They just don’t think these things through sometimes.”

Oh gods. Could the man get any sexier? He was protecting Loki.

Loki had never looked forward to Thanksgiving break so much.

 

*

 

“Professor?” Loki crept down the dark hallway toward Professor Stark’s office. He didn’t want to disturb him, but he didn’t want to surprise him either. Of course, the idea of catching the professor doing something inappropriate did catch his imagination. He supposed that Professor Stark probably didn’t do that in his office, though.

“Professor Stark, are you here?”

The Professor’s voice drifted out of a copy room. “I’m in here, Mr. Burison. You go ahead and settle in to the office. I’m just grabbing some things, and then I’ll be along.”

“I’ll do that, then.”

He found extra chairs in the office, and lowering himself into one that faced the rest of the room, he started to pull his work out. What he had finished was rather pathetic, but he’d been hoping that maybe the kind professor would find time for some private tutoring.

Of course, his mental version of that wouldn’t help with the homework.

The professor came in a few minutes later with a stack of papers. He smiled brightly at Loki. “Hey, look at you. Looks like you might have actually slept last night!”

Loki smiled at that. He’d actually had a hard time getting to sleep. It had been like the morning before Christmas as a kid; which present do you open first? The professor, on the other hand, did not look as though he had slept well. His eyes were a bit bloodshot, and had dark rings under them. He came over to sit in the chair opposite Loki – not his desk, Loki noted – and flinched a bit when he sat down.

“Are you okay, Professor?”

“What?” Was that nervousness in the Professor’s eyes? Interesting. “Fine. I’m fine. Just a lot to do during break.”

“You don’t have to let me do this, Professor.”

“It’s fine, Mr. Burison. You need a place as much as I do. Go ahead and think of the office as a quieter version of home.”

With that, he turned to the papers he was grading. He swiftly checked for unit notations, and math mistakes, and myriad other things that could be wrong. Each one took only a few moments. Loki wondered if he knew how sexy that brain was.

A few hours passed in companionable near silence. Once, the professor went to get himself coffee and brought some back for Loki as well. Limping. Hmm.

Once Loki was settled into physics, he found it remarkably easy to catch up. This was getting further and further from his plan. It was beginning to seem unlikely that the plan was going to work, in fact. It would be hard to offer himself in exchange for changing an A- to an A+. Probably not something any normal person would do. If he thought it would get him the sex and the A+, he’d have jumped on it ages ago.

The Professor was quite engrossed in grading, because he didn’t notice that Loki was staring at him like an idiot. The man ran a hand down the back of his neck and stretched as though he was uncomfortable. When his hand unconsciously pulled at his collar, Loki’s eyes narrowed. Hickeys? No, not hickeys. It looked like a series of small bruises on the Professor’s neck. Purple and green, not red. Finger sized bruises.

Odd, and maybe worse than hickeys.

When his phone rang, the professor jumped in surprise. He looked up at Loki and smiled sheepishly. “I’ll take it outside, since ‘people are learning in here’.” Loki grinned. He wanted to tell the Professor that they weren’t in class, and he could take a phone call where and whenever he wanted, but something held him back.

This time, Loki was hyper aware of the Professor’s movements. He flinched when he stood, and then he limped to the doorway. It would have been largely invisible if Loki hadn’t been looking for it, but since he was, there it was.

He couldn’t help it. He silently crept out of his seat and followed after. The professor had closed the door, but when Loki leaned his head against the wall, he could hear most of what was being said.

“…don’t think so.”

A long pause.

“I know that, Buddy, but I’m pretty messed up.”

A much shorter pause before the Professor responded defensively.

“Jesus, I know I did! You don’t have to tell me about it. But that doesn’t mean that I can just do it every night. _You_ don’t need time to heal.”

The Professor sighed heavily, and Loki heard him lean against the wall.

“-and that’s why it’s just sex. You can’t be in a relationship with a guy, and I just… I wouldn’t be the one anyway.”

Another sigh.

“No, Rhodey, I wouldn’t. It’s okay. I’m too… I’m not the right guy for anyone.”

There was a rhythmic thumping for a moment, and it took Loki a second to realize that it was the professor banging his head against the hallway wall.

“Can we not do this? Yeah, sure, Prince Charming is waiting to sweep me off my feet somewhere. He’ll be tall, dark, handsome, and willing to put up with what a sick freak I am.”

Oh yes. Loki was more than happy to do that. If only he knew just what kind of sick freak the professor was. He could certainly conjure a few images. Particularly with the help of bruises, a limp, and what was apparently a friends-with-benefits relationship with whoever was on the phone.

“Jesus Christ, Rhodey, I have a student in my office, I cannot have this conversation with you right now.”

So the professor remembered that he was supposed to be sitting just a few yards away.

“What do you mean?”

A long pause, followed by another sigh. It seemed odd that the professor would be friends with someone who irked him so much.

“There is nothing wrong with working over the break if you don’t have a family you want to socialize with.” There was a short break as a question was obviously posed, “no, I mean him. I don’t even have a family I don’t want to spend time with anymore. All I have to go home to is a computer.”

Loki figured the conversation was about over and started to creep back toward his chair, when the professor’s voice could suddenly be heard quite clearly throughout the room.

“What?” He sounded angry. “That has nothing to do with… Dammit, Rhodey, that is not funny. It’s sick. I would never do that to...”

A short pause, during which Loki dashed back to his chair and sat, staring blankly at his work. It was a good thing, too, because the professor opened the office door then.

“This conversation is over. I’ll see you if you get some leave at Christmas, okay? Bye.” The professor obviously hung up the phone without listening for an answer, then exaggeratedly pressed the mute button. “Sorry about that. Old friend with a disturbing sense of humor.”

He stiffly sat down in his chair, and then hissed in pain. Loki ignored it. This was way too much to process; he couldn’t just go with it before thinking.

The professor apparently had a friend with whom he had rough sex. Too hot for words. Loki’s brain was never getting back to physics today. The professor didn’t have a real relationship, something that Loki had already basically figured out. Sick freak? Rough sex? Loki was going to melt into his chair. It couldn’t possibly mean what his brain was turning it into.

It was just the ridiculous hormones of being a twenty-something, combined with being confronted by the possibly real sex life of the object of his infatuation. Who wasn’t in a relationship. Who wanted someone tall, dark, and handsome. Loki could definitely provide two of the three. The third, he supposed, was a matter of taste. And putting up with a ‘sick freak’? If it was half as sexy as it sounded in half a phone conversation, Loki wanted a lifetime subscription.

 

*

 

When Loki arrived home, nothing could ruin his good mood. He had a mystery to unravel, and he thought he already liked the solution. Loki was not generally a fan of bottoming. It’s not that he was against it per se, just that it wasn’t his first choice. He had spent three months thinking that this one time, it would be okay not to completely control the situation.

It turned out that maybe he’d get to control it after all, if he played his hand right.

So he decided to err on the side of caution, because he so wanted to play it right. And not just for the control. Suddenly, this wasn’t just climbing Everest. It was staying up there afterward.

Back at the Burison homestead, his brother was on some ridiculous Christmas kick. He wanted to go out shopping for their mother early the next morning, to make sure they got what she wanted. This was despite the fact that whenever anyone asked her what she wanted, the answer was ‘I already have everything I need, Dears.’ It was like something from some schmaltzy Christmas movie, and if it had been anyone but his mother, he’d have made fun.

He refrained from cynical anti-commercialism rhetoric, and from pointing out that Thanksgiving hadn’t even passed yet, because it was for her. While they were out, he decided to finish all of the necessary shopping at the same time.

Because he had to separate from his brother to do this, it seemed like an even better idea. They agreed to meet at the food court at noon. He tried not to cringe when he found his brother there, wearing a rainbow colored shirt that proclaimed ‘straight but not narrow’ across the front.

Just what he needed. He couldn’t wait for that discussion. His father wasn’t as narrow minded as all that, but they had a sort of understanding. He didn’t bring up the ‘g’ word, and his father ignored his love life. Or rather, lack of a love life. That lack probably helped the understanding.

“So, Brother, have you bought everything you need?”

“Indoor voice, Thor.”

“I am sorry,” he declared in a voice that was a tiny bit softer. “Did you find everything?”

He nodded, and took a pull off his soda. The oaf obviously wanted to say something, but was holding back for reasons unknown.

“What do you want?” He had no time for prevarication. He wanted to end this, so that he could get to school.

His brother immediately looked sheepish. “I just wanted to make sure everything is alright, Brother. I have been worried about you. It seems as though you do nothing but study this fall.”

“I’ve taken twenty two credits, Brother. I’m busy.”

“Father thinks you are trying to compete with me. He is concerned about you.”

Loki couldn’t help but scowl. “Is that right? And exactly how would we be competing? You’re going to teach tiny sprogs how to tie their shoes, and I’m going to be a research scientist. I honestly don’t see how a competition would be possible.”

“Quite so, Brother. You are going to change the world. I am merely going to change the people who will live in it. Nonetheless, Father is concerned that you are working yourself too hard in an attempt to graduate a year early. “

“This has fuck-all to do with graduating early. He’s an idiot, and he doesn’t know a thing about me.”

His brother frowned at him. “You should not be so cynical about Father’s concern. He worries about you. It warms my heart to hear him speak fondly of you again, particularly after the way the two of you didn’t get along when you were in high school.”

He just hmphed, and went back to his pizza. Odin could kiss his lily-white…

“Have you spoken to him? Perhaps if you told him why you are working yourself so hard.”

He almost choked on his pizza. Yes, that would go well. _You see, Father, I’m trying to fail a class deliberately._ He’d probably stop paying his tuition. It had been hard enough to make him believe that he needed to take twenty two hours to begin with. If he’d mentioned the plan, he thought it possible that Father would have locked him in his room for the next few millennia.

“There is a reason, isn’t there?”

“Of course there’s a reason, you Oaf.”

“What is it? I’m sure Father would understand.”

“I… I wanted to take my advanced physics with a specific teacher, and it’s not offered in the spring.”

“You see? I told Father that there was a perfectly logical reason. Wait, why didn’t you just cut a different class and take it later?”

Damned Thor and his stupid logic. He just shrugged in response. What else could he do?

“You can be incredibly stubborn sometimes, little brother.”

“I learned it from Father.”

His idiot brother laughed uproariously, and people at nearby tables turned to stare. “So you did! Tell me, brother mine, are your classes going well?”

“You tell me, brother mine, how are you going to teach first graders proper English if you sound as though you’ve just finished doing Shakespeare in the park?”

“Now, Brother. I didn’t say ‘how fare your studies?’, or something equally obtuse. And beside all that, everyone should read Shakespeare.”

He rolled his eyes. Only his brother would think that six year olds should be reading ancient sonnets that had no bearing on modern life. On the other hand, he had a few things he could compare to a summer’s day…

“My classes are fine. I need to finish and get back to school, though.”

“Back to... Again? But it is a school holiday, Loki! They won’t even let you in.”

“I’m working with a professor to… get ahead in one of my classes.” He’d die before saying ‘catch up’ in front of his brother. Okay, fine, maybe it was a competition.

“Kind of him to work with you during break, but you should be spending this time with family. I’m sure he has people waiting for him at home as well.”

“No, he doesn’t. And I’ll spend time at home after the semester is over.”

“How sad for him! You should invite him to our house for Thanksgiving!” Thor was achieving a volume of eleven with his voice again.

“A professor, Brother? Do you truly think that would be appropriate?”

“Why not?”

“Because he isn’t supposed to socialize with his students.”

“Oh.” He deflated a bit at that. “Surely, after his kindness to you, it would not be inappropriate to invite him as a friend?”

“Maybe next year, Brother, when I’m not in one of his classes.”

Maybe…

 

*

 

He didn’t arrive at school until nearly two, and he was concerned that it was too late. The professor’s car was there in the lot, though, so he pulled up next to it and headed in. He did wonder why there was a truck parked on the other side of the professor’s Audi. Not too many people were studying on the Tuesday just before Thanksgiving, and he didn’t know any professors in the science building who drove enormous phallic-replacement style trucks.

When he arrived at the office, he suddenly understood. There was a man there with the professor. Damn it. He was good looking. Dark skinned with a winning smile and even, symmetrical features. He also looked quite nice in a pair of jeans. Damn it!

Loki had dreamed of having dark skin as a child. No more sunburn, no more constant dry skin, no more stupid freckles. Thank god those had gone away. He’d look ridiculous with freckles. This just wasn’t fair, though. He couldn’t compete with that.

He was used to pretending that things were fine, though, so he pretended.

“Professor Stark. Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No, you’re fine!” The man interjected before the professor had a chance to speak. “I’m James Rhodes. You can call me Rhodey. You must be Tony’s current overachiever. Loki, right?” He smirked at Loki’s name, and it was just another reason to hate him. For some reason, the professor was blushing.

“Loki Burison, and I don’t think overachiever really works here. Professor Stark is helping me catch up.”

The man’s eyebrows ratcheted up. “Tony? You’re helping a student catch up?”

“I’m letting him use my office to work, Rhodey. Anyway, you were leaving? Thanksgiving upstate with your parents?”

“Sure. It was nice meeting you, Loki. See you around.” Loki hoped not. Rhodes grabbed the professor’s arm on his way out, tugging him out the door. “I’ll give Tony back in a minute, just gotta talk to him before I go.”

“Of course. He’s not mine to order about.” The professor blushed bright red and Rhodes laughed.

“I don’t know about that, Man. He came in over vacation to help you. I think you own his ass-“

“Rhodes! Leaving. Now.”

The professor slammed the door hard. His own precious laws of physics declared that he had pulled too hard, and the door rebounded a few inches, allowing Loki a clear line of sight and hearing on the conversation that followed.

The professor shoved his friend back against the wall with both hands. Loki was pretty sure he had never seen the professor angry before. He definitely was now.

“What the fuck, Rhodey? I told you yesterday that it isn’t like that.”

“Please, Tony. How long have I known you? You don’t help students who can’t figure it out for themselves.” The man leaned up against the wall as casually as if he hadn’t been shoved there.

“He’s smart, he just fell behind because of other things.”

“Right. Like staring at Professor Tony’s ass in class. Who could blame him? It’s a fine ass.” Rhodes’ eyes flickered down as though he had x-ray vision that could see through his friend. When they slid back up, they met Loki’s through the crack in the door briefly, and he grinned.

“Goddammit, Rhodey, stop it. I’m his professor. That is not okay.”

“You’re telling me you haven’t noticed Mr. tall, dark and fucking sexy? And that voice, man. You so want a piece of that.”

“I don’t spend class checking out my students.”

“Nah, that’s for Thanksgiving vacation.”

“I’m not… I didn’t have anything better to do, and he needed a place to study.” The professor’s voice sounded defeated, and it made Loki’s hackles rise. That bastard was supposed to be his friend.

“It’s okay, Tony. He’s not gonna be your student forever, is he? You just let me know when he starts tapping that fine ass of yours, and I’ll back off. Wouldn’t want to get your hot new boyfriend pissed at me.”

“When he…” Loki was sure it wasn’t wishful thinking that made him see Professor Stark shiver. Mostly sure. “Rhodey, that isn’t going to happen. Even when… Even if… I’m sure he’s looking for a different kind of guy.”

Rhodes laughed. “Oh no, Man. I recognize a guy like that when I see one. Like looking in a mirror. He wants to tie you up and beat your ass.”

“Oh my god…” Loki wasn’t sure if the professor was scandalized or turned on.

_Please, let it be turned on…_

“Don’t mean to get you all hot before you have to face him again. Just letting you know the score. Now be a good boy and say goodbye.” He tapped his cheek and turned a bit aside, the order quite clear in his actions. Professor Stark automatically leaned in. Rhodes’ eyes locked with Loki’s this time, and unless Loki was greatly mistaken, there was a threat in them. “Don’t let him hurt you, though, Tony. Nothing’s worth that again.”

Loki frowned and nodded, and Rhodes nodded back. He felt like a dog in a territorial dispute. Boundaries marked. At least no one was pissing on the professor’s ankles. He went over to his previous chair and sat down as quietly as possible, not wanting the noise to draw the professor’s attention to the fact that the door was open.

He pulled out the homework he’d nearly finished the night before, and started working on it.

It was true. It was all fucking true. Every fantasy he’d gone home and obsessed on the night before, every single one of them.

_He wants to tie you up and beat your ass._

Yes he did. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to think of anything else until it happened, in fact. Loki hadn’t ever considered the BDSM scene before, despite Natasha’s implications about it being particularly satisfying to punish wayward boyfriends. He hadn’t ever had a relationship that made him comfortable enough to consider it. It was hard to imagine being the professor, and trying to make small talk with a date when what he really wanted was… probably going to be completely aberrant in their world view.

The professor came in fifteen minutes later looking flushed, but carrying two cups of coffee. Loki didn’t have to wonder why coffee had taken fifteen minutes. His pink cheeks and slightly hurried breathing positively screamed sex. Loki strongly hoped that it was of the solo variety. And then he pictured it. And that went straight into the fantasy archive for later solo uses of his own.

“Thought you might like some.” Yes, _please_. Oh, coffee, right.

“Thank you.” Loki took it from him, and motioned to the chair. “You look tired. Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”

“Tired’s what coffee is for. How are you doing? Keeping up with the concepts?”

“I think so. I’d like if you looked it over, though.”

Loki realized that he had removed all request from his wording. It was something he had always done while dating, to let people know that he wasn’t just a pretty boy who followed directions. It had always been a problem for him because he was slim and kept his hair long. As though the idiots thought that somewhat feminine features made him less. They obviously did not know Natasha. Or possibly any woman, ever.

“Sure, let’s see.” Professor Stark took the paper from his outstretched hand, and looked it over.

It was honestly all Loki could do not to say or do something horribly inappropriate. He did chance a twice over, since the professor was absorbed in reading his paper. He was impeccable, as always. Nice loafers, perfectly tailored suit pants, white shirt open at the collar. He always wore a tie and jacket to class, but he had either foregone them or taken them off while here.

“This is much better, Mr. Burison.”

“Call me Loki.” It was not a request.

Professor Stark looked up, surprised, then quickly down at his paper again. He was obviously considering something. Then he nodded, to himself as much anything.

“Loki.” Did the flush in his cheeks intensify? “I’m sorry about Rhodey, he can be incredibly rude sometimes.”

“I have plenty of experience with jealous boyfriends.”

“I’ll bet. No, wait. Rhodey and I aren’t dating.”

Loki blinked as though this news surprised him. “You seemed so familiar. I’m sorry, Professor. I assumed that you were involved.”

“No. He’s in the military.” The professor frowned at that statement. “By which I mean that Rhodey is obviously as straight as an arrow.”

“Ahh. The sexual orientation choices of the military. Straight or straight. Or if you really want to be cutting edge, possibly… also straight.”

The professor laughed. “Well, there’s that, but there are other reasons we’re not dating. And I really shouldn’t be discussing this with a student.”

Make the move now, or wait? If he waited, would the moment be lost? Was he ready for the consequences if the professor turned him down? Screw it.

“Not even the one you were just thinking about while jerking off?” He tried to come off as cocky. He was usually good at cocky.

The professor’s eyes went wide. “I was… Oh god. Rhodey told you what hap…”

“The door was open, and it doesn’t take fifteen minutes to make coffee.” He leaned in, “Oh, and you look fucking fabulous when you’ve just gotten off.”

The professor was silent for a long moment, staring at Loki in shock. His mouth hung open, as though he could catch words inside that would make sense of the world gone mad. Loki would be so happy to give him something else to occupy it. For now, though, he had to sit back and be patient while the professor worked things out for himself. All he could do was pray that he hadn’t misread the situation.

“This can’t… you’re my student. No.” The professor broke eye contact and shook his head. Damn. But…

“Are you going to give me a better grade for fucking you?”

“What? Of course not! Is that what-”

“And will you treat me differently in class?”

“…no.”

“So is there a reason I can’t tie you up and beat your ass?”

The professor closed his mouth and swallowed hard. After a long pause, he shook his head again.

“Good. Then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Do you have a problem with that, _Professor_?” Professor, to rhyme with ‘you’re my bitch now.’

The professor looked like a deer in the headlights of an approaching semi for a moment, and then his expression slipped into one of peaceful serenity. His eyes slipped to the floor in submission. “No, Sir.”

Oh god.

_Oh God._

Loki had a lot of research to do on domination. Tonight. He was not going to mess this up. The image of the professor’s serene face was enough to make Loki want to turn the man over the chair he was sitting in and fuck him right then.

But that wasn’t right, and he knew it. “Shall I assume from the way that you’ve been sitting tenderly for the last few days that you have another man’s marks on you? Mr. Rhodes’?”

The professor nodded. His eyes stayed on the floor as Loki stood and walked over to him.

God, Loki was hard just from the idea of what was happening. He was going to blow like a virgin schoolboy if he wasn’t careful. Somehow, he thought being premature wasn’t exactly in line with dominance.

He reached out, tentatively at first, to tug at the professor’s collar. When there was no negative reaction, he firmed his grip. The first two buttons of his collar were undone anyway, so it was easy to move. Sure enough, there was a set of marks on the back of his neck that could have come from a particularly tight left handed grip.

Loki brushed his fingertips lightly across the marks, then shook his head.

The professor raised his head sharply, a look of concern on his face. “I’m sorry?”

“Are you?” He was genuinely curious. “Why?”

“I… have another man’s marks on me.” He paused when he was done, sounding concerned. Then, in an uncertain tone of voice, he added, “Loki?”

Oh gods, his name in that voice. There were a hundred things he could make the other man call him, but there seemed little reason when that one felt scandalous enough to both of them. The name wasn’t nearly as important as the implication behind it. And the implication would always be that Loki had forced him to say it.

Natasha was going to tell him that only he could make his own name a dirty word.

“Yes, _Professor._ Loki. And as far as Mr. Rhodes’ marks, they were made before now. If you go and obtain more of them from someone other than myself, then we will have an issue. Understood?”

“Yes, Loki.” He sounded a little breathless.

“Until the marks have faded, however, I think I’ll not add my own.” He ignored the pained huff of breath from the professor and continued, “It wouldn’t do for you to be uncertain who marked you, Professor Mine.”

He was rewarded for the possessive comment with a sharp inhalation of breath.

“Surely you didn’t think I just wanted a quickie before dinner, and then back to business as usual?”

“No?” The professor’s whole body was vibrating with a need to do something, or have something. Damn, Loki wished he knew what he was doing.

“No. If you’re agreeing to this, Professor, we’re talking about the long term.”

“A… a contract?” The professor licked his lips nervously. Loki really hated not knowing things.

“We can discuss that when you’ve had some time to think about it, Professor. It isn’t just my choice, after all.” He only had a second’s concern about whether he’d said the right thing, when the remaining tension flowed out of the professor. He was like a man who had just had an hour long massage from an expert – limp and happy. Well, not entirely limp.

“May I ask something, Loki?”

“By all means, Professor.”

“Can I…” His breathing sped again, and his eyes fixated on… oh. “Can I do anything for you, Loki?” His gaze drifted up to meet Loki’s eyes for a second before falling again, but the promise in them was almost enough to make Loki’s eyes roll back. The man positively oozed sexy.

“I believe that you can, Professor.” He pulled away the hand that had lingered on the professor’s neck, and ran it into his beautiful brown hair. “ _Kneel._ ”

Without hesitation, the professor slipped out of the chair and onto his knees. Was Loki actually about to order this? Was it really what the professor wanted? Gods knew that Loki wanted it. No point in freezing up now.

“Belt, Professor. Then trousers. Then suck me.”

A little moan fell from the professor’s lips and he nodded at the string of orders. Efficiently, he unbuckled Loki’s belt, unzipped his trousers, and pulled them down, along with his boxer briefs. When Loki’s erection fell free, a sexy smile crept onto the professor’s face and he shivered delightfully. Loki wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but it seemed like an approval to him.

Immediately, a warm, wet tongue swept out and swirled around the head. Loki had to watch. He absolutely could not tear his gaze away. The way the professor’s eyes would focus so single-mindedly on his cock, only to flip occasionally up to his face to gauge reaction. Loki was reasonably sure he was not this good at giving head, and he had rather prided himself on his abilities in that arena.

He sincerely wished he’d been the one to jerk off in the bathroom less than an hour before. It would give him a better chance to hold out while watching the professor work him over. Desperately, he tried to think of things that were deeply unsexy. It wasn’t going to help, though. He was just going to come with a picture of Thor in a bikini in his mind.

The professor sucked with gusto. It appeared to not only be something he was skilled at, but something he enjoyed. He made each new move tentatively, feeling Loki out, and threw everything into it when he received approval. Running his hands lightly over Loki’s balls until Loki’s moan of encouragement led his grip to firm. Then a finger rubbing lightly across the perineum, and then finally one wicked little digit creeping stealthily toward his ass. All the while, those inquisitive eyes staring up at him, looking for any sign of denial. At the moment, Loki would deny him very little. He just kept offering little nods of encouragement.

It was a strangely quiet affair, Loki muffling his own response, and his cock muffling the professor’s occasional sound. Those seemed made for the specific purpose of driving Loki insane. If the professor never spoke to him again and gave him an F in the class, this had been completely worth it.

When the professor’s index finger wriggled its way into his ass, he gasped and all at once it became too much. It was bad blowjob manners, coming without so much as a warning, but he just couldn’t get it out in time. “Oh god... I’m-”

The professor just moaned dreamily and leaned into him, swallowing over and over again until Loki felt completely wrung out. He pulled lightly at the hair in his hand, and the professor let go instantly.

He could get used to this so easily.

The professor just looked up at him hopefully, panting and trying not to be obvious about the tiny motions he was making with his hips – trying to rub against his own pants to get a little friction on his ignored cock.

“Professor.”

His hips froze. “Loki?”

He could have what he wanted, right? Within reason? He was in control. He really needed to get to that research. Now. Except that his professor was still waiting for orders.

“Back in the chair.”

The man dutifully pulled himself back up into the chair.

Something delightfully dirty, like forcing him to jerk himself without taking his pants down? That was definitely going to happen, but not now. Now, Loki wanted to see that cock for himself. Apparently it was going to be his. He’d be damned if he was going to let this golden goose slip through his fingers.

Loki leisurely put himself to rights, and the professor looked distressed. He almost said something more than once, but Loki cut him off with a glance. When he was done, he went and sat back down in his chair.

The professor unconsciously rocked his hips in search of friction a few more times.

“Professor.” He used his best warning tone.

“Loki?” The plea in his voice was enough to make Loki wish he could get hard again that fast.

“Show me your cock, Professor.”

Without hesitation, the other man unzipped his trousers and then pulled his boxer shorts down enough to pull his cock out for Loki’s appraisal. His arm was tense in an effort to keep from just immediately stroking himself. His eyes stared pleadingly into Loki’s. Neither his panting nor his erection had flagged since they had started.

“Very nice, Professor.” Loki unconsciously licked his lips, and was rewarded with a whimper. “Stroke yourself. Slowly.”

He nodded, and started to move his hand, obviously taking the ‘slow’ part quite seriously. He watched Loki’s face like a hawk, looking for signs of what he should do more of. When he brought the other hand down to fondle his own balls, Loki licked his lips again, and got the same whimper. The professor’s hand sped a little.

“Tell me what you were thinking about when you jerked off in the bathroom earlier.”

His voice was a whisper. “You, Loki.”

“Me? What about me? Are you sure it wasn’t Mr. Rhodes?”

The professor frowned at that. “You, Loki. It’s been you for a while.”

“A while?”

“Since that day you were talking to Miss Romanova about dating, Loki.”

“Why then?”

There was a moment of silence, but the moment Loki opened his mouth to reiterate the request, the professor started talking. “You were so self-assured about being something a lot of people see as disgusting. I thought maybe there was a chance you would think I wasn’t disgusting, either, Loki.”

“So you’ve been jerking off while thinking about me for three months, now?” At the professor’s embarrassed nod, he continued. “Well then, Professor, I think you owe me quite a few orgasms.”

His hand on his cock paused, and he looked at Loki questioningly. Should he stop?

“I don’t recall telling you to stop that, Professor.”

Immediately, he started jerking himself again, this time a bit roughly.

“How were you picturing me? Beating you, as Mr. Rhodes suggested?”

“No, Loki.” His breathing was getting ragged. “I was imagining you for-forcing me down over the desk in the classroom and taking what you wanted.”

The hand sped again, and a whimper fell from the professor’s lips.

“Do be careful, Professor. I haven’t told you to come yet.”

The hand slowed with a slight whimper, but he thought that it had worked to bring his professor back from the precipice.

“Do you want me to do something else, Loki?”

“Such as, Professor?”

The professor’s cheeks turned a lovely pink and he looked at his knees once again. “Suck you again? Lick your boots? Finger myself?”

“It’s too soon, not at the moment, and…” Loki thought about it for a moment. “Yes. Stand. Lean over the table in front of me and show me how you finger fuck yourself.”

The professor started to comply even before Loki had finished the entire sentence. Before he had time to think too hard, he was watching the professor pressing two fingers into his hole and whimpering. “Can I speak, Loki?”

“Only one way to find out, I’m afraid.”

“I… I was thinking of this, Loki. Of you telling me to finger myself.”

“Is that right? There in the classroom?”

“Yes, Loki.”

“Before class? After?”

“During.” The professor’s hand jerked forward, driven by his own words. “Loki. Please.”

“Is that what you want? You want all of class to watch me make you mine?”

“Yes!”

“Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

“Please… I can’t – much longer.” Loki didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that the statement wasn’t about class. Though it had apparently been driven by the fantasy.

“Do you want to come, my beautiful professor?”

“Yes, Loki. Please.”

“I want to hear my name on your lips while you come.”

“Loki. Oh god, Loki. Loki.”

“Come.”

“Loki…. Loki!” The professor continued to stroke himself as he reached his peak, spending himself on the table and floor. When he was done, he continued the slow strokes he had started with, even though it looked like it was beginning to pain him.

“You can stop when you’re finished.” The hand stopped almost instantly, and Loki knew he’d been waiting for that permission. It was a powerful feeling, and a terrifying one. He wondered… “Now you’re going to have to clean up the mess you’ve made.”

The professor only glanced briefly at the box of tissues on his desk before dropping back to his knees and using his tongue. He gave Loki a fleeting look to assure himself that this was the appropriate course of action. The pure lust in Loki’s eyes must have given him the encouragement he was looking for.

How had Loki never been interested in this particular kink before? He’d probably just been so happy to get any sex that it didn’t matter what the power dynamics were. Hell, he’d been willing to let the professor screw him, if that was what he was going to get.

This, though, was so much better. Rhodes was never getting his hands back on Loki’s Professor.

When he finished cleaning the floor, the professor scooted on his knees into a position where he could reach the table, and continued his work. Loki wondered exactly what the professor got out of this particular form of control. Loki was about ready to have another go at the poor exhausted man, turned on beyond belief at watching his complete submission to Loki’s will. But the professor had just finished, and was nowhere near ready to start again. What was the turn-on?

When he finished, he sat back on his heels and looked to Loki’s feet with an inquisitive expression. Waiting to be told what to do next.

“You can dress, Professor. I think that’s enough for now.”

“Yes, Loki.” The man was up and righting himself in an instant, his head still lowered in submission.

“Do you still have tests to grade?”

“Yes, Loki.” There was the slightest hint of hesitance, the fact that Loki was still his student brought up in his mind.

“You should get back to work, then. I will be here working as well, should you need something. Inform me if you do.” And with that, Loki turned back to his papers and started to work. He wondered if there was something magical about having sex with a physics professor, since everything suddenly seemed so much simpler.

He felt more clear-headed than since before he had started this ridiculous quest. It felt as though he’d spent months worrying about childish things, and now he was being handed his adult card. And he was definitely never leaving the top of Everest. Not even if he had to fight every other contender who thought he could make the climb, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments are vastly appreciated, as well as corrections. I'm still without beta, so do please forgive me any continuity or such issues.


	2. Talk to Me

The two of them sat in a companionable silence for a few hours, each working on his own project. By the time the natural light from the window was fading, Loki had half caught up with his missed homework. Another day or two, and he’d be done.

His phone buzzed with a text message from his brother. Almost time for dinner, and his mother was asking after him. Damn.

Well, he had research to do, so perhaps it was best that he remove himself from the situation in the short term. He didn’t want to make an immense faux pas without even knowing what he was doing. He preferred to be rude on purpose rather than accidentally.

“Professor?”

“Yes, Loki?”

“I am finished for the day. I have things at home that need seeing to.”

“I understand, Loki.”

“You should go home and get some rest. I want to see you back here at 9AM exactly.”

The professor let out a breath and nodded. “I’ll be here at 9AM exactly.”

“I want you to clear anything you have on your schedule for tomorrow, and I shall do the same.”

“I understand, Loki. May I ask a question?”

“You may.”

“Were you serious about discussing a contract?”

“I was.” He hoped that meant something even remotely like what he thought it did. Not only because he hated feeling a fool, but because it sounded like exactly what he wanted. A replay of this afternoon on a regular basis? No sane person would say no.

“Do you…” The professor was decidedly nervous. It seemed that he was treading on unfamiliar ground even for himself. “Do you want me to make a list, Loki?”

“Yes, I do.” Lists were good, right? “We can discuss it tomorrow.”

“Yes, Loki. Is there anything else you want me to bring?”

Loki smiled. This was the easy question… He hoped. “No, Professor. Your presence is all I’ll be requiring in the morning.”

“Yes, Loki. Thank you.”

Loki drove home in a daze. He had ordered his professor to suck his cock. And he had. And it had been by far the most amazing sexual experience of Loki’s life. Okay, that wasn’t saying much, he’d only been trying to date for less than a year, and sex had been secondary to things like school and life. And graduating before Thor. Fine, it was entirely a competition. And he was damned well going to win it.

Now, though, he not only had a whole new sexual relationship to think about, but an entirely different lifestyle to study along with it.

He arrived home late for dinner and his family was waiting for him. Lovely. He’d be in trouble for that. He swiftly divested himself of his coat, and went to sit across from his mother.

Then the strangest thing happened.

“How is your classwork coming along, Loki?” Odin asked, with actual concern in his voice.

“I-It’s fine.” Odin had never before expressed an interest in Loki’s schooling. “I think I’m where I need to be.”

“And this professor who is using his Thanksgiving break to help you?”

“What about the Professor?” Oh dear. When he said ‘ _professor_ ’, his cock did a thing. That was going to be a problem. Thank goodness it was currently hidden under the table.

“Have you thanked him?”

“Of course, Sir! He’s been quite helpful.”

Odin nodded. “You’re doing well, Son.” He put a hand on his shoulder. No, really. _Odin put a hand on his shoulder._ “I’m proud of you.”

Loki stared at him for a second before getting his head together. “Thank you, Sir. I’m trying to make you proud.”

“You do.”

Loki couldn’t find a single thing to say through the entirety of family dinner. Thor chatted away as usual, wearing his ridiculous shirt, mother beamed like a woman who’d just won the Nobel peace prize, and Odin was his usual quiet self. It was all Loki could do to sit still.

But for his father’s approval and his mother’s happiness, he would do almost anything. So he waited, and ate, and let Thor prattle on about his teaching observation class. It sounded unbelievably boring to Loki, but Thor was so genuinely excited about teaching children that it was hard to mock.

It wasn’t as awful as any other family dinner, but it was even worse at the same time. Then Frigga insisted on serving some kind of dessert. He tried hard not to cringe. He did not practically inhale it so that he could hurry up to his room to research kinky sex.

By the time he made it to his computer, he was ready to explode. Odin stopped in his doorway on the way to his own room. “Don’t stay up too late, Son. If you have to retake a class, then you can do that. It’s not worth losing sleep over.”

“I’ll sleep, Father, I promise. And I can do this. I’ll be fine.” Odin nodded, and closed Loki’s door on his way out. He wondered if Odin was on drugs. Maybe he was dying. Maybe Loki was dying. Oh, who cared? Sex.

Loki silently crept over to the door and locked it. Wouldn’t have for Thor to be wandering in and seeing his computer full of information about bondage and domination.

The first thing he learned was that there was a ton of information. The second was that at least half of it was wrong. It was the internet, after all. He found a few books to read on the subject, thank goodness for his handy e-reader. He’d love to explain that book jacket to Odin. ‘Well, Father, I’m reading a book about domination for… ummm, reasons. A psych class! Yes, that’s it. I got to pick a subject for a paper, and I picked tying people up for sexual purposes.’

Yes, e-readers were good.

On the other hand, while Loki gave the book some credit for this, what it seemed to go back to repeatedly was that every relationship was different, and every sub needed something different from his or her Dom. The main focus was on ‘safe, sane, and consensual.’ What he could really use was a book about the professor, and what _he_ needed from _his_ Dom.

So Loki did a search on contracts, which were pretty much exactly what he’d expected. A sort of long term relationship contract wherein the participants agreed to certain roles. Not legally binding by any means, but so damned hot…

He also found a lot of nonsense about some pop culture book, and something about how keeping someone who didn’t know anything about ‘the lifestyle’ as a slave was not safe, sane, or even sexy.

Then there were ‘lists’. Oh. Okay. Well that was going to be… informative. Reading one that he came across, Loki couldn’t help but be fascinated, turned on, and repulsed at the same time. People actually gave their subs to other people against their wills? That didn’t seem right. Maybe consenting to it on a list meant that it wasn’t against their will? Loki had a hard time with the notion of wanting to share his professor, though, so he skipped thinking of it.

There was a laundry list of every kinky thing his mind had ever strayed to, a bunch of things that were way beyond his kink level, and quite a few things he had to google just to find out what they were. Sounding? Oh. _Oh. **Ouch!**_ People did that for pleasure? Obviously, Loki was missing something in the translation here. That did not look like a safe, sane idea.

He printed a copy for himself as he wondered if his curiosity was woefully inadequate for what the professor needed. Well, if he had to, he would expand his horizons. There were a few things he couldn’t ever imagine wanting, but most, he could at least try if the professor wanted them. He wasn’t sure how dressing up in latex or giving an enema could be sexy, but if it made the professor happy, what did it hurt? Somehow, he got the feeling that just seeing the professor turned on would do the trick for him.

Suddenly, a light in Loki’s brain turned on. That was what the professor had gotten from the little show in his office, licking up his own come. At least, part of it. Given his reading, he was beginning to wonder if there wasn’t a little humiliation kink in his professor.

Gods, why was _that_ hot?

This night was worse than the previous one for sitting awake wondering what the morning would hold. What would the professor’s list say? As long as he didn’t want to be permanently given away to someone else or… well, best to wait until they arrived at the situation.

When he woke, he left a note on the refrigerator saying that he was going to be busy after his time at school, and would probably be quite late. Better safe than sorry.

He arrived at school at eight thirty, he couldn’t help himself. He sat in his car doing Physics homework. Suddenly, the homework was not the means or end, but something to get out of the way as soon as possible. The sooner he was done with that, the sooner he could start testing the boundaries of this new… whatever it was.

Anthony showed up in the parking lot at three minutes to nine. He came bearing his briefcase and a coffee carrier. He looked exceptionally nervous. Loki suspected that he did, as well.

“Professor.”

“Loki.”

And that was all they said as the professor unlocked the doors and they made their way in.

They reached the office, and the scene inside was bizarrely mundane. Loki handed the professor the homework he’d managed to finish, and the professor handed Loki a cup of coffee.

They both sat down and started working again.

“Can we talk during lunch, Loki?”

“I think that would be a very good idea, _Professor_.”

“Thank you.”

So they worked. It really was amazing how little work a class required when you were focusing on it solely. He might even finish before the end of the day if he worked hard. Once, he realized that he didn’t understand a concept. Time to be student again. He softened his voice and put a questioning note in it.

“Professor Stark, could you please explain this to me?”

“Of course, Mr. Burison. What is it? Ahh, yes….”

And so it went. Loki studied and finished months’ worth of homework, and the professor graded tests.

Around eleven, he seemed to be finished with the last pile on his desk, and tentatively reached into his briefcase for a small pile of paper there. He looked nervous. Loki put his pencil down and left student-mode for a moment.

“Is something bothering you, _Professor_?”

“No, Loki. I just didn’t finish this last night.” He looked a bit downcast.

“I do not recall making an explicit demand that you have it finished by this morning.” He was sure there was something he was supposed to do here. If he had more experience, he’d know what. Take a page from Odin’s book and act disappointed? He suppressed a shudder. No. And he refused to ever consider Odin and his domination style in the same thought again.

Now, Anthony’s look was conflicted. “I’m struggling a little bit.”

“Why? Does it require anything but honesty of you?”

“No.”

“And do you not wish to be honest with me, _Professor_?” That was the point of these lists, it seemed. An honest chance for people entering into a relationship to discuss their experiences and limits. Loki quite liked that idea. Every date ever should come with a list.

“Yes. No. I don’t want you to be disgusted by me, Loki.”

Loki frowned at that. Sick freak again. “Have you committed a crime I should know about?”

“I’ve done some illegal drugs.” The simple confession slipped out of him so easily. “I got drunk and drove home, once.”

“And do those things relate in any way to your list?” Loki asked patiently, already well aware of the answer.

“No. There’s nothing illegal on the list. I mean, not really. I guess public sex is.” The professor frowned at that. “Which, I guess, is another crime.”

“Well then, let’s clap you in irons.” Loki put a hand on the professor’s. “I’ve read the lists, _Professor._ I know what they say. I will not tell you that I am willing to do every single thing on them. But if I were not at least willing to discuss most of them with you, do you think I would be here today?”

“I hope not, Loki.” The professor bit his lip and looked up at Loki, head still bent.

“Good. Now, I have an assignment to finish, as do you. I will be doing my best to determine the right answers. You, on the other hand, are required only to tell the truth. The absolute, unvarnished truth. When we have finished our respective assignments, we shall eat lunch and talk.”

Loki wondered about the logistics of discussing sex over lunch. He definitely didn’t want strangers overhearing them discussing the things that would be on the list. Perhaps they could order in.

He went back to his homework, wanting to finish as soon as possible. The professor went to his list, making marks and frowning at some of them.

Loki decided to intervene. “If you lie to me on your list, _Professor_ ,” he brandished a pencil at him, “I’ll be much more disappointed in that than in anything that it could possibly tell me.” Their eyes locked for a moment, and an item the professor’s pen had been hovering over got circled.

He wondered if the professor’s office was the place to have this discussion. It wasn’t exactly neutral ground. But then, the professor was in a more tenuous position, so maybe giving him something familiar would be comforting. Or awkward.

When Loki finished the assignment he was working on, he picked up his school paraphernalia and set it all out of the way. Time to stop being a student.

“Lunch?”

“That sounds good.” The professor was glaring at an item on the list. Loki leaned forward to look at it. Teacher/Student roleplay. He would not laugh. _Do not laugh!_ The professor met his eyes, and then crossed out the line altogether.

“Oh, but _professor_ , what about whether you’ve tried it before?”

“Yes, and I didn’t like it then. It’s a hard limit for you.”

“What if I want to play professor?”

The professor took a deep breath. Maybe not such a hard limit after all. But other things were far more important than whether the professor wanted to dress as a schoolboy and be spanked with a ruler. Hmm… maybe not _far_ more important.

“Why don’t we just shelve that one while we discuss the others? Starting with the basics?”

The professor nodded. “You want me to call you Loki all the time?”

“I do. Do you accept my calling you _Professor_?”

The professor blushed. “I’ll be a lot more comfortable with it when you’re not my student anymore.” He ducked his head and scratched at the healing bruises on his neck. “But I like it.”

Like. Loki smiled. He liked it.

“And the standard scene color codes? Red, yellow, green?”

The professor nodded. “Stop, change, go.”

“And an actual safeword. Do you have your own already?”

“I… um, I’ve used… Father.” Loki was suddenly glad that he wasn’t a psychology major. Not that he didn’t see a connection, but it wasn’t his life’s work to see connections and worry about them. And who was Loki to judge Daddy issues, considering the way he desperately did everything he could to win Odin’s affection?

“Do you still find it acceptable?”

“It’s fine. I don’t use it.” Now that, he thought, was a problem. It wouldn’t do any good to just say ‘you have to use it’, though. That was a problem that was going to require trial and error. Perhaps some more research would help. Still, best to put it out there now.

“I would like for you to use it, Professor.” Loki put his hand on top of the one the professor held his pen in. “You must know that I haven’t done this before. I would be more comfortable knowing that you’ll tell me if you aren’t enjoying yourself.”

The professor stared at him for a long moment, before nodding. “I, um… I’ll try, Loki.”

“Good.” Loki sat back in his chair. “Shall we order something to eat, and discuss your list?”

“I would like that, Sir.” The professor frowned. “Can I call you Sir, too? It’s going to slip out sometimes. I… I guess you could punish me for it.”

“Sir is fine, _Anthony_ ,” Loki purred.

The professor’s eyes went wider, and he stared at Loki with an open hunger that made him wonder if ordering lunch would be necessary after all. “Thank you, Sir. May I order lunch?”

“Please do.” Loki didn’t even ask what he was ordering, he just waited.

The professor made a call, ordered what sounded to be Thai food, gave them a credit card number, and hung up. Then he looked at Loki and paused, concern blooming in his eyes. “I…”

“Did you just buy me lunch, _Professor_?” Loki grinned at him. “No queries about where to order from or what to get?”

“Yes, Loki.” His eyes strayed to the floor.

“Thank you.” The professor gave him the same look as the day before, when he had told him that he wanted more than just a quick fuck. “I am sure it will be lovely. And a gentleman does not make demands when someone else is providing his lunch.”

It seemed that his submissive didn’t want someone to control every aspect of his life. Loki tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. Loki was still living with his parents, for fuck’s sake. How would he have taken control of another adult person’s entire life?

“Professor?” Loki changed to a softer tone of voice.

“Yes, Loki?” The professor obviously wanted to look at him, but refrained. Yes, that needed to be gotten under control a bit.

“I don’t mind you looking me in the eye, Professor. In fact, sometimes I quite like it.”

“Sometimes?” Those huge brown eyes danced up to meet his, asking without speaking. How was he supposed to know what Loki wanted with such a lack of detail?

“If you want to look at the floor, then feel free to do so. But unless I say otherwise, I quite enjoy looking into your lovely eyes.” Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to stare into those deep brown eyes? People called eyes windows to the soul, and it was a stupid thing to say… but his professor’s eyes were just that expressive.

“As long as you haven’t given me a command, I can… do what I want?” At Loki’s nod, the professor smiled and shyly looked away for a moment, only to drag those eyes back to Loki’s own after a moment. Always testing his boundaries, the professor.

“Yes.” Loki smiled at him before continuing, “Now, your list.” Loki did not enjoy the fact that like a skittish colt, the professor’s eyes immediately skipped away from him.

“You should know that I’ve done most of these things. I… I don’t want you to be surprised or-”

“Disgusted?” At the professor’s nod, Loki smiled. “I had sex with a woman once. Doesn’t mean I want to try it again. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all tried things weren’t entirely thrilled with. There’s a reason you’re supposed to say whether you want more or not.”

Without another word, the professor handed it over. It seemed that he had been quite thorough. It was a huge list of items. At first it seemed complicated, but it was surprisingly easy to read.

It also showed patterns easily. His professor had done a lot of receiving, and not so much giving. Submissive, he supposed. Beatings, gags, bondage, forced wearing of specific clothing, enemas, exhibitionism… Forced heterosexuality? That was one Loki hadn’t found in his searches. Even more disturbingly, it was indeed marked as previously experienced. Loki dearly hoped that his professor at least found women attractive.

Loki supposed he wasn’t intended to be bothered at all, but what bothered him most was the fact that the professor had listed so few things as limits. The student/teacher fantasy. Multiple partners in any way, including the ‘giving away’ option. Making pornographic pictures and videos. There was a story in that one, and Loki wasn’t sure he wanted it.

Some of those marked highly desirable were incredibly easy to picture, though, and so damned sexy it made his cock stand up and take notice. Those were going to go in Loki’s personal fantasy list. No, wait. They were going on the list of things that he was going to do. That they were going to do together. Spanking? Bondage of various kinds? _Ice_?

Wait; his dear debauched professor had never had phone sex? They would definitely be doing that.

The professor left the room and came back with food. Loki hadn’t realized he’d spent quite so long poring over the list, but he supposed it shouldn’t surprise him.

His professor had done so many things, and so many of them were listed low on his scale of limit (0) to essential (5). There were a lot of ones and twos. Unless he was reading his professor wrong, it seemed that he had done many things he hadn’t particularly wanted to, and was willing to do them again if Loki demanded it. Loki did not like that idea. True and willing consent was far sexier than the idea of beating the professor with a cane (2).

As the professor set out food containers, he looked more and more nervous.

“Um, Loki? You haven’t said anything in a while.” His voice was quiet, and his eyes wouldn’t leave the table.

“Neither have I gotten up and walked out, _Professor_.”

Their eyes locked for a long moment before the Professor broke away.

“Soup?”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” The two words were infused with a warmth that the mundanity of the act didn’t call for. It was truly a pleasure for him to have served Loki’s lunch. There it was on his list in black and white. Serving, 5. The professor got off on serving Loki. The coffee of the last few days suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

Loki realized suddenly that he had been completely wrong to fear the list. It was like a list of ideas. Almost everything that the professor had marked as essential (5) on his list qualified as a personal fantasy for Loki. They were the kind of fantasy that you thought of only in those last few desperate seconds of masturbation, and felt a little ashamed of afterward. The professor was not only okay with them, he actively wanted Loki to do them to him.

Well, almost all of them were that kind of fantasy. For the professor, he would try the ones he found odd or worrying. The professor was giving him a level of trust no one ever had before. He would not let him down.

“Is there anything I should know that isn’t on this list, Professor?”

“Yes. But… I’d like to get to know each other better before I talk about some things.” Loki felt his heart melt a little.

“Of course.”

They ate their lunch in silence, Loki considering the list. There were more things on it that he’d have to look up. Piercing corsets? What the hell were those? It sounded like some kind of medieval torture device. He gave up on picturing it, pulled his tablet out of his bag and googled it. Google, the new opiate of the masses.

Oh my. Well that was…

The professor watched him, and when the images scrolled across, he smiled. “Should have known you’d be doing your research.”

“This is… stunning.” Loki couldn’t tear his eyes away from the image of a woman whose entire back was pierced in two lines from the nape of her neck to the top of her thong, and a red ribbon was laced between in a crisscross pattern. “Could do without the red, though.”

“Mmm?” the professor questioned, his mouth full of soup.

“Reminds me of my bloody brother. I prefer black. Or green…” His eyes unfocused from the screen, imagining the professor laced from neck to lower back in green and gold. His favorite colors. He imagined that getting so much skin pierced hurt. He could spend hours kissing it better. Hmm… Wasn’t he supposed to be having a conversation about sex, and not just picturing it in his head? Right.

“So, we’ll leave off the things you’ve marked as limits.”

“If you really want any of-”

“We can revisit this discussion again in the future. For the moment, I have no interest in pushing your limits.” To confess, or not to confess? It would be a disservice to the professor to demand honesty and not offer it in return. “I would like to find out where my limits are, first. If they’re enough for you.”

The professor looked shocked. “If they’re enough…”

“You have very specific desires, _Professor Mine_. I want you to have all that you want. It remains to be seen if I am able to give it to you.”

The professor put his spoon down and slipped out of his chair onto his knees. Gods, the way he did that was unreal. It was like being on his knees was more natural to him than sitting, and his body automatically reverted, given the option.

“Can I…” The professor closed his eyes and left his mouth open, seemingly willing words to come to him.

“Aren’t we supposed to be discussing your list, my dear _Professor_?”

 “Screw the list.” The professor whispered. “I just want you to take what you want from me. Everything you want.”

“That, _My Professor_ , is not the way this works. Come sit on my lap, we’ll look at it together.” It was not a request. Loki wasn’t sure whether to be distressed or not at his deep satisfaction in giving orders. Particularly orders that were immediately acted upon.

The professor covered the few feet between them still on his knees, and slid up into Loki’s lap. This was good. Oh yes. This felt perfect. Was it strange to want a grown man sitting in his lap?

Oh please, who cared? He was well beyond strange. He was about to discuss roleplaying kinks with the grown man sitting in his lap.

“So, women’s lingerie is a thing with men? Like, thongs and brassieres?”

“Yeah, but more like corsets, garter belts, and thigh high stockings. And high heels.” The professor bit his lip in a gesture that could mean he wanted this and worried that Loki thought it strange, or that he really didn’t want it.

“It says you’ve done it.”

“Do we have to talk about… specifics?” He squirmed in Loki's lap, in a way not entirely unpleasant.

“I do not need to hear about your other lovers, only your opinions on the items in question. In fact, I would prefer not to hear about your other men just now.”

And so it went, item by item, kink by kink. They were barely scratching the surface of each item, and Loki knew it. They didn’t even make it through a quarter of the pages. Some of it was quite involved, though, and Loki wanted to know everything he could. Shibari was particularly elaborate. And the thought of tying his professor up in beautiful knots… well, there was a bit of squirming and panting involved in the discussion of that particular point.

Loki tried to put a stop to anything overly sexual, though. This time in the professor’s office was supposed to be about discussion, not about sex. It was a discussion about sex, but still, there were protocols he intended to abide by.

There was no way they were going to get through the entire discussion in one afternoon. Even if time constraints allowed it, Loki’s resolve would snap long before the end of it. Images of the professor trussed up, and dressed up, and tied up, and… oh dear. He was pressing his erection into the professor’s posterior again.

_Bad Loki._

When the clock reached past six, the professor got quiet for a moment before turning and looking at him. “Loki?” Then he waited to be acknowledged.

“Yes, _Professor_?”

“I’m a little hungry.”

Loki considered the words for a long moment, and then nodded to himself. “Then you should eat. We probably should not go to a restaurant. Can you cook?”

“Yes, Loki.”

“Do you have the necessary supplies at your home?”

“Yes, Loki.”

“Then we should go there, and you can cook dinner. Yes?”

The professor took a long deep breath. “Yes, thank you, Sir. I would like to cook for you.”

“Good. I look forward to seeing how far your skills extend.” He left it deliberately open-ended. It seemed the thing to do.

The two of them packed their respective things, and Loki followed the professor home. It was a beautiful home in a nice suburb. It had a gate and an enormous manicured lawn. It was a little like Loki’s own home, but it seemed that the professor lived there alone. It sounded rather nice, living in a beautiful private house, where there was no danger of Thor bursting in to insist that he join family game night. Just what he needed, playing the game of Life with Thor. No one would ever guess that Thor won. Yes, yes, that was indeed sarcasm. Of course Thor won. Every damned time.

He followed the professor to the door, and they went inside. It was decorated simply, but elegantly. Loki thought his mother would quite approve.

Thinking of the list, Loki turned to the professor and said “Naked. Now.”

Without so much as a word, the professor started stripping off every article of clothing he was wearing, folding each, and placing them in a neat pile on a table near the door. Noting the pale carpeting, Loki removed his own shoes and then just waited, watching the striptease. And it was definitely that. The professor knew how to prolong it until Loki wanted nothing more than to rip his shirt off and throw it across the room.

That was definitely not the kind of dominance he wanted the professor to associate with him. So he leaned against the wall and watched, as impassively as he could. He knew that he was radiating lust, but it wasn’t as though he could turn that off with the beautiful man stripping naked in front of him.

Given his own body’s reaction, the Professor agreed with Loki’s assessment of the sexiness involved. He wondered if it was going to be uncomfortable to cook with a cock that hard.

The professor’s body was just as amazing as Loki had thought it would be. Had hoped, really. The man obviously spent some time in a gym. Come to think of it, he probably had a gym there in his house. Loki was bitten by the urge to watch him work out. All panting and sweaty, and then licking the trails of sweat off his body.... oh my. Later, though. Now, it was time for the professor to cook for him. Why was the thought of watching his professor do _everything_ so alluring?

His body was indeed marked, though. The bruises on his neck were the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There was another handprint on one of his upper arms, and there were thin lines all across his backside – still an angry red almost three days after they were received, by Loki’s count. He didn’t like it. He wasn’t against the idea of bruises per se, or the professor sitting lightly the day after Loki fucked him… but he had no interest in making marks that would mar his professor’s beauty.

“The kitchen.” It almost came out as a growl.

The professor hesitated, looking at Loki, then the carpet. It only took Loki a second to understand. He took two steps to close the space between them. “Do you want to crawl to the kitchen for me, my little slut?” Hmm… was slut overdoing it?

The professor shuddered and nodded vehemently. “Yes, please Loki.”

Guess not. “On your hand and knees. I was to see that lovely ass crawling in front of me.”

The professor gracefully slid to his knees and started crawling down the hallway. Loki had never seen anything so fucking sexy in his life. His professor, crawling for him, his bare ass wiggling from side to side with every step.

Loki frowned. He stopped and put a foot in front of the professor, and the man instantly stopped. “Tell me, Slut, do you crawl for your other men? Cook dinner for them? Am I a convenient replacement for Mr. Rhodes’ extended absences?”

“No, Loki. I… Rhodey doesn’t like it. And I’ve never cooked for anyone I was sleeping with.”

Loki was incredulous. “He doesn’t like watching that beautiful body crawl for him? You’ll have a hard time convincing me of that.”

“He just likes it in… in the bedroom. Usually just the rough stuff.” The voice had dropped off to a whisper at the end, as if willing Loki to stop listening.

“Ahh, hence the marks.” Loki leaned down and pulled the professor up to his knees by the hair. “I will mark you, _Professor,_ I promise you that. But I would prefer to own you in every way.”

The professor unconsciously leaned into him. “Please. I want you to.”

Loki smiled at him, and softened the hand in his hair to a caress. “To the kitchen, Sweet.”

The professor gracefully slipped back down to the carpet and crawled his way to a stunning black and stainless steel modern kitchen. Frigga would not approve of this; it was too cold and dark. Loki adored it.

“Loki?” The professor looked up at him, eyes questioning.

Loki wandered over to peek inside the fridge. It was like something out of a magazine. All fresh vegetables and perfectly organized containers. Tiny little packages of meat, just about enough for one, were stacked in one drawer.

“You may stand. And do wear an apron. I don’t want _my professor_ hurt by anything but my hand.”

He smiled shyly. “Thank you, Loki. What would you like me to cook?”

“The salmon, and the asparagus.”

“Yes, Loki.”

The professor tied on a simple black apron and started pulling things out of the refrigerator. After looking briefly over at Loki, and then at the pile of ingredients, he opened a smaller refrigeration unit and hesitated, looking a little nervous.

“ _Professor_?”

“Would… would you like a glass of wine?”

Loki grinned. Poor professor, probably worried about whether Loki was even twenty one. Loki could practically see him doing the math.

“A sauvignon blanc to go with salmon, I think.” A look of relief followed. If he knew something about wine, he must have at least had it before.

Wordlessly, he pulled a bottle out and expertly opened it. The man was a wine drinker. Loki was going to fucking marry him.

He poured a single glass, for Loki, and then set himself to his task. He was indeed a skilled chef. Loki himself was only marginally competent in the kitchen, but he recognized practiced confidence when he saw it.

There was a large central island in the kitchen where most of the cooking took place. It had a surrounding counter, so Loki took a seat and watched, sipping his wine.

In just under half an hour, an impressive plate was set in front of him. The professor stared at the floor and waited. There was far too much food for Loki, but only the one plate. Everything about this situation was new and surreal, and absolutely fucking sexy.

“The apron, _Professor._ ”

The poor thing jumped. “I’m sorry, Loki. I forgot.”

“No excuses or apologies necessary, just fix it.”

He immediately stripped the apron off and went to hang it in the place he’d retrieved it from. His cock was still hard, but not so much as back during his little striptease.

“Drink.” Loki held the wine glass to the professor’s lips and tipped it so that the man was forced to take a mouthful if he didn’t want to spill it. “Now, I think on your knees, like a good boy.”

He slipped down to his knees so smoothly that it looked like part of a dance. The man had been made for kneeling, Loki was sure of it. He did it so well, and looked so beautiful down there.

“Face up, _Professor_.”

He immediately followed the order. He looked nervously up at Loki with that lovely expressive face, and licked his lips. Loki had to work not to react to that.

“Open those sweet lips.”

When he complied, Loki fed him a bite of salmon. Then he took one for himself. It was perfect.

“You’ve done very well. This is quite good.”

“Thank you, Loki.”

Loki fed him another bite, then turned his attention to the asparagus. It was his favorite. Thanksgiving was an odd time of year for it, but the wonders of global shipping had manifold consequences. The professor had made some kind of lemon and butter sauce that tasted like sunshine to go with it. He picked up one stalk between his fingers, dipped it into the sauce, and held it out. The professor’s mouth opened, and Loki fed it to him one bite at a time, until they reached the end, and the man licked the remaining sauce off Loki’s fingers.

Every step of the way was just like the blowjob from the day before. Testing his boundaries, and then once he found them, using them to their fullest extent.

When he reached the end of the second stalk of asparagus, he wrapped his lips around Loki’s index finger and sucked. It took every ounce of self-control Loki had not to just force another blowjob right then and there. But no, that wasn’t the plan.

Wait, there was a plan?

Loki was lucky to be keeping his head above water here; being the one in charge without knowing how to be in charge was almost impossible.

They finished every single thing on the plate and almost two thirds of the wine, Loki scrupulously making certain that the professor ate at least as much as he did. He was submissive, not a serf. Meanwhile, being hand fed had obviously done something for the professor. His erection had rebounded, pressing upward and even starting to leak a bit.

“Now _Professor_ ,” Loki admonished, “I can’t have you making a mess of your beautiful kitchen.” He reached down with his off hand – the one not covered with butter – and wiped the tip of the professor’s cock with his thumb. It was the first time Loki had gone anywhere near it, and the professor closed his eyes and let his mouth fall open a bit. He leaned up into the lingering touch and whimpered.

Loki waited until those deep brown eyes opened again, and then brought his thumb to his lips and licked. The professor gasped and stared, licking his lips as though he could taste it himself.

“Do you clean up the kitchen yourself, or is there a maid?”

“A maid, Loki.” Gods, he loved how the man added his name to everything. Like everything he said was for Loki, about Loki, and maybe even looking for Loki’s approval.

“Gather them into the sink, then. No reason to make their job harder.”

Loki motioned to the dishes on the counter. The professor stood to take them, and Loki ran a light hand down the man’s gorgeous naked back and ass.

“I suppose I shouldn’t interfere with your task, _Professor_ , but you are so tempting.” He pressed the front of his clothed body against the professor’s naked back. “Can you feel what you’re doing to me?”

“Y-yes, Loki.”

“Do you like having power over my body?”

A gasp, and long pause. Not for the first time, Loki crossed his imaginary fingers and hoped it hadn’t been the wrong thing to say. What would happen if he crossed the wrong line? That was unacceptable. The more he got a taste of this, the more he wanted.

“Yes… Yes, Loki. I love having control.” The professor’s head fell forward. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so bad.”

“Oh, Precious. It’s sweet that you want me to want you, but you’re certainly not in control. What do you think you’d be doing right now if you were in control?”

“Mmmmm… I-” The professor paused a moment, and turned to see if Loki’s question was in earnest. Then he blushed, and looked back at the floor. “I’d be riding you right here on the kitchen floor, Loki.”

“And do you think you’ve earned that?”

The professor thought about it for a long moment, then shook his head. “No, Loki.”

“And why not?”

“I still have another man’s marks on me. I still have…” the professor flinched a bit. “I still have the bonds he used attached to my bed.”

“Oh dear. That is quite unacceptable.” Loki gave the bare ass in front of him a light smack. “Finish cleaning.”

The professor hurried about his business, and then dropped back to his knees in from of Loki. “Do you want me to do something else?” There was a note of hope in his voice.

“Oh yes, _Professor_. Many somethings. But first, you’ll take me to see your bed.” Loki ran a hand through his hair again, and then used the hand to push the professor’s head toward the floor. “Crawl.”

The professor’s cock jumped at the pressure and words. He instantly dropped to all fours and started crawling down the hallway. He led Loki up the stairs, and following a crawling man up a flight of stairs is surprisingly arousing. The way his hard cock swayed between his thighs, occasionally brushing against a stair. Every time it happened, the professor hissed and paused for a second.

When they reached the bedroom, Loki couldn’t help but be impressed all over again. The bed was big enough for a damned orgy, and the room was unbelievably sexy. A deep mahogany bed frame with four enormous posts, crimson red bedding with gold trim. A lush black carpet that Loki definitely wanted to have sex on, rug burn be damned. Beautiful stylized abstract paintings on the walls. No prints for his professor. Ironically, the rough looking ropes tied to the bed posts were the least sexy part. Rope? Really? Did Rhodes _want_ to mar that lovely skin? That wouldn’t do at all. Loki would have to invest in something softer to tie his professor up with.

“Do you have a knife?”

“What?” The professor looked panicked, suddenly.

“You will cut away those insults to my presence immediately. And burn them.”

Realization dawned, and the professor nodded. “Yes, Loki.”

He crawled into the bathroom and came back a moment later with a pair of scissors in his mouth. Fuck, but that was hot. Loki sat in a large leather-upholstered chair next to a table, and watched the professor work. He crawled to each corner, came up on his knees to use the scissors to cut away the rope, and then crawled to the next corner. When he had gathered it all, he pressed it to his chest with one hand, and used the other three appendages to sort of limp his way over to the gas-powered fireplace and put the ropes in. He flipped it on and watched the ropes burn.

“Excellent work, _Professor._ A very good start. Now come here.”

He immediately crawled over and bowed his head before Loki’s knees. Loki took his face in hand and rested it on his lap.

“This is going to be more important, _Professor Mine_. I want you to find every single thing in this house that you’ve allowed a man to violate your body with. You may stand. You’ll gather them all here.” Loki pointed to the floor in front of himself.

Sure, he didn’t want to use another man’s… riding crop, or something, on the professor’s gorgeous ass, but there was an ulterior motive. He wanted to see exactly what the professor kept to play with. He needed to know what he needed to learn more about.

As soon as he’d finished explaining, the professor was up and working. Loki wondered if he was at all hesitant about getting rid of his own sex toys, especially for a man he hadn’t even had sex with yet. He seemed quite focused.

It took a few minutes and a few trips into other rooms, but before long, there was a pile of toys. A few things that Loki’s relative ignorance labeled as varying kinds of whips, a long piece of flexible wood that Loki definitely didn’t like the look of, bindings of every kind he could imagine, and more dildos than Loki had ever seen before in his life. Okay, and there were a few things he didn’t even begin to recognize, but he wasn’t going to say that. Some of them looked fascinating, though.

“A box.”

The professor took a moment to procure a large box, and Loki motioned for him to start putting the items inside.

“Are any of these things important to you, _Professor_?”

“Not really. Just… useful.”

“And this?” Loki held up the wood, which he realized was actually a piece of bamboo.

The professor’s shudder was almost answer enough, but the words sealed its fate. “It’s Rhodey’s thing. He was the one into the cane.”

“And you? Do you want me to beat you with this?”

“Is it what you want?”

Loki reached out and grabbed the professor’s face roughly. “Do you enjoy being beaten with this? Before, during, or after the beating? Does it make you hot, does it get you off?”

“No.” It was a whisper, but it was quite clear.

“And you never told him that?”

“No.” Same whisper, but this one with a little shame. “I thought… No. I didn’t tell him.”

Loki brought his knee up, and broke the thing over it. The professor’s eyes snapped up, and they were filled with a mixture of concern and lust.

“Well then, _Professor_ , I think we need to set some boundaries right now.”

“We have a safeword…”

“And I’ve told you that you’re to use it if you need to. I also want you to tell me the truth about things like this.” He held up the broken halves of the cane. “Do you need any other failsafes?”

“Ummm… if you have me gagged…”

“Then?”

“Tapping, Blinking? It hasn’t come up much.”

“But you want it to.”

The professor turned bright red, but he nodded.

“Three times. And then again, until you’re sure you have my attention.”

“Okay.”

“And the cane…”

“What? You… you broke it.”

“Yes, and I have no intention of being the next Mr. Rhodes. We will have more long discussions about your list. You marked the cane as acceptable, but you do not like it. I will not spend hours beating you with a cane only to find out that you have not enjoyed yourself.”

“Oh…”

“I want you to enjoy every filthy thing I do to that perfect body. I want you to dream of them at night, and beg me to do them again. Am I understood?”

The professor’s face was flushed, and he was panting. “God, yes.”

“Excellent. Now, these.” Loki motioned to the toys on the floor.

Eyes back on the floor, the professor nodded. “Do you want me to throw all these things away, Loki?”

“No.”

The look of shock and slight disappointment that crossed his face was exactly what Loki was hoping for. “Oh, I’m not going to use them on you, _Professor_. Which ones did you not particularly enjoy?” Loki motioned toward the nearby trash can.

The first things to go in were the broken remnants of the cane. Then some metal handcuffs, and a few whipping implements - the ones made of traditional leather and plastic materials, Loki noted with interest. That was important. The suede device with a dozen strips of material trailing from a stiff handle stayed. What looked like a traditional riding crop stayed as well. So did the leather bindings – cuffs for both wrist and ankle, as well as a collar and leash. _Fuck_. A black ball gag that looked shiny and new. A dozen dildos and plugs of varying shape and size stayed. A metal ring was thoroughly considered with something between loathing and longing before it was put in the pile of things to be kept. A dozen things Loki didn’t recognize, into the pile to be kept.

“Finished?”

“Yes, Loki.” The voice was still concerned.

“Put them in the box.”

The professor slowly complied, just as he had with his clothing earlier. Slowly and meticulously, everything was neatly stacked in the box.

“Now, you’ll put it somewhere I never have to look at it again.”

“Loki?”

“I will not be using another man’s tools on your body, _Professor_. But I will not force you to throw them away before you are comfortable doing so.”

The professor stared at him for a moment in surprise. He had believed that Loki was going to order him to throw away what must be thousands of dollars in sex toys, and he’d been entirely prepared to do it. That was a little overwhelming.

“Take it away. Now.” He waved a dismissive hand at the box. Thankfully, the professor didn’t just move it to his closet. He took it out of the room, and didn’t come back for a few minutes. When he did, he immediately dropped to his knees and put his head on Loki’s lap. After a moment, he leaned forward and licked the back of Loki’s hand. That was odd. Something Loki had missed in his research? Well, there was probably a lot of that.

Loki ran a hand down the side of his face and tilted it up to meet his eyes. “ _Professor_?”

The man’s breathing quickened. Hmm… perhaps the tiny action had meant more than he realized.

“Can I…I mean, is there anything I can do for you, Loki?”

“Do you want to suck me again, Sweet? Feel my cock inside you? Ride me until you can no longer sit astride?”

“Oh yes, Loki. Please.”

“Well, since I’ve deprived you of your toys, the least I can do is fill you up, hmm?”

Only a whimper escaped from the professor, who was obviously holding back from pressing his erection into Loki’s leg. Loki rather wished he would, actually. The image of the professor humping his leg was oddly compelling.

“Very well, _Professor_. Go lie on the bed. Face down.”

Without the slightest hesitance, he did so. It astounded Loki. He’d never received such perfect trust before. Even his mother often believed him to be up to no good. The professor had so much to lose if Loki so much as snapped one photo that turned up on a social networking site. The professor was literally putting his future in Loki’s hands.

Again, _fuck._

Why was that so damned sexy?

Loki watched him lie there on the bed for a moment, trying not to rut against the covers.

“Lubricant?”

The professor whimpered at the word, and pointed up at a bedside stand without even looking. Loki smirked. He was no virgin. He wasn’t hard up for sex. But this? This was a whole new level of sex. This was the hottest fucking thing he’d even seen, let alone been a part of.

It was ridiculous, but at that moment, he was quite certain that he owned Professor Anthony Stark.

He shivered.

He pulled the drawer on the bedside table open, and found the lubricant… and a plug. Hm.

“I thought I told you to gather all of your little toys, _Professor_?”

The professor’s head snapped up, eyes focusing on the plug in terror, before calming. “You said anything I let another man violate me with. You didn’t mean just me… did you?”

Loki’s smile turned wicked. “Your very own toy, _my professor_?”

The professor bit his lip and nodded.

“You use it to replace a real cock in your tight little ass when there’s no one else around to fill it?”

This elicited another nod, accompanied by a whimper. “It’s the only one. I promise!”

Loki kept grinning as he put it down on top of the nightstand. He turned back to the professor with the bottle of lube in his hand. “Next Monday, _Professor._ Next Monday, you’ll wear it to class.”

“I…”

“Yes?”

“Yes, Loki.” The professor’s voice lost all strength, and his hips unconsciously started moving against the covers.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I’ll wear it to class next Monday. I’ll spend two hours with a rubber plug in me, wishing it was you filling me up like the dirty slut I am.”

“And what will you do after class?”

“Any… anything you want me to. Mmmmh…”

Loki reached out and gave his ass a sharp slap. “No rutting against the bed like a beast, my dear little professor. You’ll come by my hand or my order, or you’ll pay a price for disobeying.” The whimper this elicited was proof that he seemed to be getting it right. Maybe it was just because all he had to do was the sexiest thing he could think of.

He stripped quickly, laying his clothes neatly over the back of a chair near the bed.

As he worked, he pulled a condom out of his wallet – something he was going to need to stock up on, he hoped – then he went back to the matter of prepping the professor.

He slicked the fingers on his right hand liberally, and pulled himself up to kneel between the professor’s legs. Seemingly instinctively, the man spread them further, obscenely displaying everything Loki wanted to see.

His beautiful heavy cock was lying against the bed, trying oh-so-hard not to just hump the coverlet. Loki absently thought that perhaps he’d like to have it in him at some point. He wondered if that was allowed. The best view, though, was the professor’s fine ass. Rhodes may have been wrong about many things, but he was right about that. It was the finest ass Loki had ever seen.

Slipping his lubricated fingers between the cheeks, he started with two, since the professor had basically done the same previously. The professor jerked up toward the invading pressure. He smothered a moan and tried hard not to fuck himself on those fingers, but Loki knew from personal experience that it was a downward spiral. The harder he pressed, the better it started to feel. When Loki curled his fingertips down and searched around for a moment, he was pleased to hear a pillow-muffled scream. Yes, that would have to be the right spot.

Immediately after that response, he forced another slick finger into the tight hole. Had his professor truly been ill used only two nights prior? He was so tight that it seemed unlikely. It was going to take a little time and effort to stretch that hole enough for Loki to fit inside without pain. The professor didn’t seem concerned, though. He pressed back into the fingers harder with each stroke.

Loki pushed his pinky in as well, assuming that it wouldn’t be terribly well received, but wanting to see for himself.

“Oh god, please, can I talk?”

“Do you need to discuss family, Sweet?”

“Wha? No! Nononononono! Please don’t stop.”

“Then no, you may not speak. And I swear to you, _Professor_ , if you come before I allow it, you won’t like what comes next.” Loki wasn’t entirely certain what came next, he just had to hope that the professor didn’t know that. He really needed to make plans for situations like this.

The body beneath him dissolved into sobs, still pressing up into each thrust of his fingers with as much force as the position allowed. Tearing the condom open with his left hand and teeth, Loki struggled to get the damned thing on, but he was not stopping his prep. He needed the professor ready for him. He poured a bit more lubrication onto himself and spread it around, then slipped his fingers out and himself in, in one smooth motion.

Well, as smooth as it can be, replacing fingers with something quite larger. The professor, on the other hand, did not seem to mind at all. Unless biting one’s pillow, thrusting up, and screaming into the bed were bad things. They felt heavenly to Loki.

The professor’s ass was incredibly tight, despite the preparation. He must not have a chance to spend a lot of time with… no, Loki would not think of his other man. (men?) Not now, and not here. This tight perfect ass was his.

He leaned down and smoothed his hands up the professor’s torso; beautiful, tanned, and toned piece of flesh that it was. He pulled the man’s hands, which had fisted in the covers, into his own right hand, and stretched them as far above the professor’s head as they would go. Then he used his grip as leverage to piston in and out of that tight, perfect ass. With his left hand, he continued to try to touch every inch of that beautiful body.

The professor whimpered, but he was obviously making an effort to keep his mouth shut.

“Do you want to talk now, _Professor_?”

“Not unless Loki wants me to.” The vehemence with which he shook his head left little doubt that the words were true.

“Do you just want to lie there, cry, and savor the feeling of a cock ramming into you?”

“Please, Loki, yes!”

And yet, completely quiet sex seemed wrong in this circumstance. Not that Loki had a need for constant chatter, but he wanted to say something. Shout from the top of Mount Stark, as it were. Still, though, best to check before ruining it for his partner. “Do you want me to be quiet?”

“No! No, I want… I mean, I’m sorry, I… Oh god, I can’t…” He couldn’t seem to get a breath long enough to finish the sentence. He also seemed to be concerned about what he wanted to say.

“Tell me what you want, _Anthony._ Tell me right now, or I stop.”

“No! I mean please, Loki, I want… I want to hear your voice.”

“And what do you want to hear, the periodic table of elements?”

“No. Tell me I’m… Call me a… Oh god, Sir, I can’t.”

Loki stopped dead.

“Your whore! Please tell me I’m…” The professor flailed beneath him, trying to thrust up onto Loki’s cock.

“Why do I have to tell you that, _Professor_?” Loki thrust in again, hard, and the professor whimpered. “I think you already know that you’re my whore. Don’t. You?” He punctuated the last two words with particularly hard thrusts that made his professor scream.

“Yes! Yes, I’m your whore!”

“Such a bad little slut. I could make you do anything right now, couldn’t I?”

“Yes!”

“Anything to keep me pounding my cock into you?”

“Anything!”

Loki threaded his left hand into his professor’s hair and pulled his head to the side so that he could whisper in his ear. “Tell me I own you.”

“You own me.” Not the slightest hesitation.

“Tell me Rhodes won’t be back for Christmas.”

“Oh god…” Loki thrust in hard enough to bruise when his professor hesitated.

“Tell. Me.”

“Rhodey… Rhodey won’t be back in me unless you leave. Ever.” Just the words were almost enough to drive Loki across the finish line. The professor belonged to him now. He would not have another cock in him.

“Say it again.”

“Rhodey won’t be back for Christmas!”

“Who do you belong to, Sweet?”

“You!”

“Who?”

“You, Loki! I belong to you! I’m yours! Oh fuck, please, can I come? I need to come, Loki!” If he lived for eternity, and got to fuck the professor every single day for the rest of that eternity, Loki would never tire of hearing those words. He needed to capture them and make them the professor’s ringtone on his phone. He needed to hear them every day, forever.

Loki put his left hand around the professor’s waist and pulled them both up onto their knees, continuing to pound into the shorter man. The height differential gave quite the extra potential thrust in this position. The professor immediately began to whimper, from loss of friction to his cock and from added force to his ass.

“Are you going to come now, my little whore? Nothing touching you but air? No stimulation but my cock pounding your tight little ass?”

“Yes, oh please Loki, yes. Can I?”

“Are you such a little cum-slut that you can get off on nothing but my cock inside of you?”

“Yes!”

“Then do it, _Professor_.” He let go, then. His tightly controlled rhythm became wild, thrusting into the professor as fast as his hips would move. The force behind the thrusts was making him a liar about not leaving marks until the previous ones were gone, but he didn’t care – couldn’t think enough to care. He was going to explode… but first, he had enough presence of mind left to make sure that his professor joined him.

He leaned in and licked the shell of the professor’s ear, and then whispered against the wet skin. “I said to cum, Cunt.”

The professor jerked on his cock, and came forcefully all over the bedspread. It was enough to push Loki over the precipice. He had gotten the man to come on his cock alone. Oh gods, the **_power_**.

He held the professor tightly against his chest and he continued to thrust until his orgasm abated. Then he held his right hand out in that direction to change his center of gravity until they both tumbled to the right side of the bed, just clear of the mess the professor had made. He wrapped the arm back around the man, and just held on to him. His softening cock was still inside the professor, and he didn’t even want to move.

Loki wasn’t at all against dirty talk in the bedroom. Fuck, it had probably been some of the hottest things he’d ever heard, let alone said. But after verbally abusing the man for half an hour, he wanted little more than to hold him, just to reassure him that calling him a whore did not mean that Loki intended to slip out and leave some twenties on the nightstand. Loki wasn’t a cuddler, and that wasn’t changing.

This was just a one-time exception to his rules.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, totally overwhelmed by the response to this. Hope the follow-up doesn’t disappoint! 
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos, it's been deeply appreciated.


	3. One Nine Hundred

“…bly go to heaven, please don’t hang your head and cry. No wonder why my heart feels dead inside…”

Loki woke with a start. Thor. Thor’s ringtone. Why was Thor calling him? Why had he gone to sleep with the lights on? Why… was he still in Professor Stark’s bed, holding the man tightly to his chest? Well that wasn’t really much of a question.

The professor murmured in his sleep and wriggled against Loki. Hmmm… Yes, Thor could wait.

Then the damned ringing started again.

Loki slipped away from the professor, who whimpered and scooted back on the bed, trying to find where his cuddle partner had gone. Loki put a hand on his back and rubbed reassuringly as he searched out his trousers and found his phone in the pocket. He considered hitting ignore, but the oaf would probably just call again.

“What do you want, Thor?” He hissed into the phone.

“Brother! Are you well?” The voice came through the phone so loud that it was probably more easily heard than Loki’s.

“I’m fine, Thor. Busy. Go away!”

“But Brother, it’s nearly three in the morning! I called Natasha, and she said that you were not with her.”

“Because I’m not, you nitwit!” The professor whimpered again. He had to get rid of Thor. “I’m… I’m on a date.”

“At three in the morni… Oh. Then I shall disturb you no more, Brother! I will call Natasha and tell her that you are well.” Loki panicked. If Thor told Natasha he was ‘on a date’, she’d know. That was unacceptable. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t let it happen.

“No, you won’t. I will call Natasha. Promise me, Thor.”

“You… are not with Clint, are you?”

“Thor!” His voice raised to normal volume, and he cringed as the professor started to turn toward him. He reduced his voice again and stroked the professor’s back soothingly. “No, I am not. I would never do that to myself, let alone Natasha. Promise me you won’t tell Natasha, and then hang up and let me alone.”

“I will not inform Natasha that you are on a date. Is everything well, Brother?” Thor’s voice was starting to be truly concerned.

“I’m fine, Thor, I’m just not ready to talk to Natasha about this.”

“This? Brother, do you have a… a boyfriend?”

“Hang up, Thor.”

And then Loki did, just to preempt any further conversation. He shot a quick text to Natasha, to make sure there were no worries. _‘Sorry about Thor. Everything’s fine, nothing to worry about.’_ Then he tossed his phone onto the chair and pulled himself back up behind the professor.

“Brother?”

Damn. “Yes.”

“Problems?”

“No.”

“Miss Romanova?”

“Knows I’ve been trying to seduce you.”

A long silence followed.

“Didn’t know that.” It was a whisper.

“Everyone with a libido wants you, Professor.” Loki paused only a moment, knowing there was no way to take that comment that wasn’t mildly insulting. “I just didn’t realize that I’d be keeping you until Tuesday.”

There was another worrying pause before the professor spoke. “I get a say in that?”

“No.” Loki turned his professor’s face so that he could look him in the eye, and put the question in his own eyes. He didn’t want to give permission out loud for the professor to say no, but he needed him to know that it was technically there.

“Good.” The professor shifted a bit, and frowned. “May I clean up, Loki?”

“Of course.” Loki nodded, sitting up.

The professor turned and gave him a shy look. “I can change the blanket while you shower first.”

“An excellent plan, _Professor_. I do intend to dirty the bed again, though.” Loki wondered if it should be so easy to fall right back into character. Character? He supposed it didn’t really qualify as acting, if Loki was basically being himself.

The professor breathed deeply and licked his lips. “I hope so, Sir.”

It was deeply tempting to rub another one out in the shower. Gods, that look. That lust-filled, bedroom-eyed, lip-licking, come-fuck-me look. Every fantasy Loki had was going to include that look. But no. At this point, jerking off was just going to keep him from giving his professor all he had.

He may have been woefully unprepared for this kind of relationship, but one thing he did know was that his control was by no means absolute. He was in charge, sure. The professor following his orders was one of the sexiest things ever to happen. But the professor was really the one with the power. He could take it all away with just one word.

Of course, he already knew that the professor was disinclined to do that, even when he should. From what Rhodes had implied about the professor being hurt ‘again’, to the fact that he had obviously accepted treatment he hadn’t enjoyed from Rhodes. It seemed that his professor wanted approval more than he wanted pleasure. Or maybe the two were too closely interlinked for him.

Loki considered his options as he showered, helping himself to the professor’s shampoo. The smell of it reminded him of burying his face in the professor’s hair as he fucked him into the bed. By the time he was done washing his hair, he was completely ready to go another round.

“So you’ve been struggling in class on purpose.”

He hadn’t heard the professor come in. Convenient, though. He opened the shower door and looked at the man, who was leaning lazily against the sink. “Would you like to talk about it?”

The professor’s eyes slid from Loki’s face, to his erection, and back to his face. “I would. Later.”

Loki motioned for him to come forward, but then held out a hand when he took a step. “Crawl. When we’re alone together here, I want you on your knees for me.”

“Yes, Loki.” The professor whimpered as he slid to his knees, and slowly crawled forward.

“That’s better, my sweet little _Professor_. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, Loki.” He gazed up at Loki’s cock and licked his lips again. “May I?”

Loki paused, as though considering. “Have you been a good boy tonight? Have you earned it?”

The professor seemed to consider this all too seriously, his lip trembling. “I-I don’t…”

Loki gently took his chin in hand and pulled his face up. “The answer you’re looking for, My Sweet, is yes. You’ve been a very good boy. In fact, if you’d rather I use this in some other way, do request.”

His professor’s eyes widened, and his face positively fucking glowed at the praise. “No, please. Please, Sir, I want to suck you.”

Loki let go of his face and smiled gently. “All yours, Sweet.”

“Thank you, Sir.” The professor reacted like Loki had given him a fucking gift. Here, have my cock. It’s magical and you’re going to love it.

Wait. Something was wrong here. Loki frowned. “Wait.”

The professor looked up at him, expression concerned.

“A condom. How could I have forgotten?” He had forgotten, the first time. How incredibly careless of him; as though oral sex was particularly safer and didn’t need it. Loki leaned down and stroked his professor’s face. “Always thinking of myself, and not you. We need a condom.”

Hi professor made a face. “Do we have to? I trust you, Loki. You’re clean, right?”

Well, Loki hadn’t ever been careless before, but he didn’t particularly like the idea of the professor putting that kind of trust in him without proof. He frowned.

“I want to taste you, Sir, not rubber.” The professor made his voice soothing and submissive, and stroked his thighs.

Something from his reading popped into his head. It’s the dominant’s responsibility to protect his sub from potentially harmful things that can happen in any scene. “No. Condom. I saw the ones you have in the bedside drawer.”

Sullen, the professor nodded and went to retrieve one. Loki refrained from asking why he had them if he didn’t want to use one. He returned and efficiently rolled one on to Loki, still pouting.

Loki sighed. “Have you been tested recently?”

The professor shook his head. “But-”

“Nor I. Tests, and contract, and then we’ll discuss it further.” Loki gave him a look that allowed for no resistance. If the professor wanted his come so badly, there were safer ways to play that game.

The professor nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Alright, then. Do you still-” The professor’s mouth was on him before he could even finish asking the question. “Oh.”

He attacked Loki’s cock like he wanted to conquer it. Maybe he had visions of climbing Everest too. This wasn’t like the tentative testing from the blowjob in the afternoon. This was an attempt to suck Loki’s soul out through his cock. He felt himself bump the back of the professor’s throat, and the man just kept swallowing until his chin was pressed up against Loki’s balls. Loki had noted the relative lack of a gag reflex earlier, but this was insane. No one had ever swallowed him whole before, and everyone gagged at least a little. That was normal, wasn’t it?

It made him nervous about attempting to reciprocate. Would his apparently amateurish attempt at a blowjob amuse instead of arouse?

And then he couldn’t think anymore, because the professor’s hands were fondling his balls, and he was moaning around Loki’s cock like he was the one being sucked. Loki’s hands wound their way into the professor’s hair, and he found himself pushing forward into that warm, wet suction. _Bad manners again, Loki?_ He stopped immediately. The professor whined and shook his head.

Frowning, Loki pulled the professor’s mouth off him. “ _Professor_?”

“Please?” Oh god, the begging made him want to come right then.

Loki stroked his face, and asked, “Please what?”

The professor wrapped his arms around Loki’s thighs and begged again. “Please, Loki. Fuck my face. Hard. Make me choke on it.”

Oh God.

At some point in this, Loki was going to die of erotic overstimulation. The man had no idea how fucking sexy he was, begging to be fucked. How could he? He certainly wouldn’t have settled for the occasional attention of a friend if he knew how easily he could get fucked by anything with a cock.

By this time, though, he had mistaken Loki’s hesitance for something else. He started to pull away, a flush rising in his cheeks.

“Where do you think you’re going, _Professor Mine_? I believe you just made a request. One that I will be happy to honor.” Lowering his voice and giving a pointed look, he continued. “Three taps. Remember?”

The professor nodded breathlessly and opened his mouth wide.

Loki thrust inside. He was immediately rewarded with a gurgling moan. He used his hands, still in the professor’s hair, to start pushing the man’s mouth up and down on his cock. Slowly at first, but all the way to the hilt every time. There was a tentative push of the professor’s cock against his shin.

“Are you humping my leg, _Professor_?”

A whimper, and the movement paused.

“Do it. I want to feel you rutting against me like the whore you are.”

The movement started in earnest again, and Loki sped his thrusting. He pushed the professor’s head down on his cock and held it there for a three count, waiting for the professor to stop him. Instead, the thrusting against his leg became frenzied, as though not breathing was the sexiest thing in the world. He let up and gave a few slower, lazier thrusts. They were answered with a whine from the professor, and an attempt to force his head back down on Loki’s cock.

Loki held him off for a moment, and was rewarded with more whimpering.

“Oh, my _Professor_ , I wish you could see yourself right now. Whimpering like a slut, begging for more of my cock. Do you want it? All of it?”

The professor nodded, still trying to push his head down himself. Finally sure that the man had gotten a proper chance to breathe, Loki gave him what he wanted. He thrust himself all the way in and held there for another moment, then started fucking those delicious lips again. The head of his cock was hitting the back of the professor’s throat with every other thrust. His professor was going to feel this in the morning. Well, later in the morning….

His thrusts against Loki’s legs were becoming very specifically rhythmic, and Loki felt himself grin wickedly.

“Stop.”

The professor’s whole body went rigid, and his eyes opened to stare up at Loki pleadingly. Loki pulled himself out of the professor’s mouth entirely, and the man whimpered pathetically at the loss. He actually reached out with his tongue to lick the tip as it was pulled away from him.

Loki reached over and turned the water off.

“Sir? Please-”

“Sit down and spread your legs for me.”

The order was followed instantly.

“Use your hands. On yourself.” The professor pouted adorably, but complied. Then, he decided to put on a show. He jerked himself hard with one hand, and slipped the other down to slide a finger into his ass.

“Is this what you want, Loki?”

Loki grinned again, and nodded. He took his own cock in hand, and started lazily stroking it. “Can you still feel my cock in you from earlier tonight, _Professor_?”

“Yes! Can I have it, please?” The professor put on his best pout as he tried to entice Loki into fucking him.

Loki found that he was quite enjoying this scene, despite its being completely unplanned. “Is that what you want? My cock in your ass again?”

“Yes…” The professor started fucking himself hard on his hand, and his eyes started to drift closed. He obviously wasn’t going to last long at this rate.

“Eyes on me.” Loki jerked his cock harder, faster. Those beautiful brown eyes latched on to Loki stroking himself.

The professor licked his lips. “I can do that for you, Loki. You don’t have to-”

“You can stay where you are like a good boy. You _can_ do that, can’t you?” Loki slowly slipped the condom off, ignoring the professor’s whine.

“Yes, Loki.” There was still a whiny note in his voice as he shoved another finger into himself. The angle looked awkward and not entirely comfortable, but he was obviously determined to give Loki what he wanted.

“You do want to be good, don’t you?” Loki sped his hand, and the professor slowed his own, leaning forward and seemingly entranced by Loki’s hand on his own cock.

Loki reached out his left hand and grabbed the professor’s hair roughly. “Don’t you?”

“Yes! Fuck, yes, Loki… want to be good for you.”

It was exactly the right thing to say. The pressure in him reached a peak and Loki let himself go, coming on his professor’s chest. He kept stroking until he was thoroughly emptied. The man leaned into him, licking his lips and moaning. He was stroking himself quite roughly again. Loki knelt down in front of him, keeping their eyes locked together.

“Do you like being marked as mine, _Professor_? Covered in my cum like a filthy whore?”

The response was instantaneous. “Yes! Fuck, yes!”

“Are you going to cum, Slut?” This name calling was starting to come out naturally. Was that a good thing?

Instead of answering, the professor asked. “Please, Loki?” He wanted something? How could Loki say no?

Loki leaned in and nibbled on his ear. “What do you need?”

“Oh God… please…” He hesitated, something nervous entering his voice. “Hit me?”

Loki blinked. He couldn’t help it, he hesitated. He was so glad that the professor couldn’t see the surprise on his face. He heard the professor’s voice in his ears from two days earlier… _willing to put up with what a sick freak I am_.

Oh, Professor.

Loki swallowed his hesitation and leaned back, forcing a hard look onto his face. The professor looked terrified as much as turned on. His hand had stopped moving, and he was waiting nervously.

“Why have you stopped, Whore? Did I tell you to stop?”

“No, Sir!” He started furiously pumping again. “I’m sorry, Loki, please don’t be…”

Loki swallowed hard before pulling back his hand and slapping the professor hard across the cheek. He’d never been violent with a lover before, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. At least, not until the professor reared up and came powerfully on himself at the abuse, all the while whimpering, “Thank you Sir, thank you. Thank you.”

Loki’s hand was shaking, but a spike of lust flashed through him at the debauched way his professor looked. And at the fact that he had hit the man. He was already half hard again. From hitting his lover. There was a special hell for him, he thought. Oh well. Completely worth it.

“Look at you, covered in cum like a dirty slut.” He gripped the man’s hair and angled his head to look at his groin. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Look at what you do to me, Professor. Look how much you make me want you.”

The professor’s eyes widened, and despite his obvious exhaustion, he reached for Loki’s erection. “Can I suck you again?” There was a note in his voice that positively made Loki’s heart melt. Relief? Gratitude?

“Later, Sweet. And for as long as you like.” The hope in the professor’s eyes made him go even gooier. It rather mirrored his own feelings on the matter. He’d never really wanted to be in a long term relationship before, but there it was.

 _His Professor_.

 

*

 

Later, when everyone was dry and there were clothes covering all the distracting bits – well, all but those sexy brown eyes – Loki remembered something else important. It was actually Thanksgiving. Dammit. It was a family related holiday, and he would be expected to be at home.

Part of him wanted to bring the professor home with him, but he knew that it was a bad idea. First, he’d spend all day as hard as a rock, watching the professor… exist. Then, of course, there was the fact that Frigga would _know_. The mother-force was strong with that one. Finally, if Loki brought home a professor, there would be questions. When it later turned out that he was dating said professor, there would be even more questions, and they would be even more uncomfortable. Odin would probably think that he’d gotten a good grade in class because he’d slept with the professor. Thor would think that the professor had taken advantage of his baby brother.

No, he had to go home and spend the whole damned day playing dutiful son.

All he wanted to do was slip back into bed with his professor and… have more sex. Not snuggle. That was silly.

He sighed. “I’m afraid I’ll be expected at home.”

“Sure.” The professor nodded. “You’ve got family to think of.” Loki was rather sure that the sadness he saw in those eyes wasn’t in his imagination. The professor must miss having a family to go home to. As much as Loki complained about his family, he did love them. He actually enjoyed occasions like Thanksgiving. It’s just that he didn’t particularly want to go home right this minute.

“Tomorrow, professor.” Loki said firmly. “I… well, I’m about finished catching up, so there’s no reason to bother with your office, unless you have more to do.”

The professor shook his head. “No, Loki. I’m finished.” Then the look he gave Loki made his heart squeeze. “Would you come here, Sir? I’ll… I can make you breakfast, if you want me to.”

Yep. He was going to die of sex.

He smiled at his professor and ran a hand through his hair. “That sounds lovely, _Professor_.”

“What time do you want me ready for you, Sir?” Anthony was shy suddenly, looking at the floor instead of Loki’s eyes.

“Shall we try nine again?” Loki asked, well aware that the professor would have gone along if he’d said four AM.

“Yes, Loki.” The professor nodded. “I’ll be waiting for you with breakfast at nine, on Friday morning. Oh, the gate code is 1642. Can I write down my phone number for you, in case something comes up?”

Loki smiled. “Of course.”

The professor wrote a number on a pad of paper on a nearby table, then ripped it off and handed it to Loki. Loki folded it up and put it in his wallet. Then he wrote his own phone number on the pad. He looked up at the professor. “Just in case something comes up.”

Loki ran his hand across his professor’s face, tipping it up to look at him. He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to Anthony’s, leaving them like that for a long, quiet moment. Just a kiss. No pressure, no demand, no sex. Just the soft statement of Loki’s lips to Anthony’s.

You are not just sex.

“Until tomorrow, then, Anthony.”

 

*

 

Loki was still thinking about the look on the professor’s face as he left, when he pulled up the drive to the family home. The confusion and hope. The way he’d taken a deep breath and let it out ever-so-slowly. The way he’d watched Loki go, from the first step away until he’d stepped out the door, when Loki had turned to give him one last look.

He sat there in his car for a few minutes, running it through again and again. The whole scene made him want to turn his car around and go back.

Then he realized that there were lights on in the house.

It was only a quarter after four in the morning, who would possibly…? Thanksgiving. It was Thanksgiving. Frigga was up, cooking. Damn.

He quickly ran though his options. Sneak in? She’d catch him. Tell her he was with Natasha? Thor already knew he hadn’t been, and was the world’s worst liar. Tell her he’d been on a date? Oh gods, she’d give him the sex talk. And he’d actually been irresponsible, so when she brought up condoms... Well, he called Thor a bad liar, but even he had a hard time lying to Frigga.

No point sitting in the car pretending it was going to go away. At least this way, he’d only have to deal with her, not Thor and Odin. At least, he hoped that the two of them were asleep in bed.

He decided to just bite the bullet and go in through the back door – the kitchen door.

Frigga looked up from her mixing bowl and smiled brightly at him. “I didn’t think you’d try to sneak past me.”

“There didn’t seem to be a point, Mother. You’d have known.” He hopped up onto the counter next to her.

She swatted his leg tolerantly. “You shouldn’t sit on the counter. Your father wouldn’t like it.”

“And we both know that Odin will sleep until ten this morning.” He shot back. If there was one thing his adopted father loved, it was extra hours of sleep.

“Sass.” She smiled as she turned to grab an ingredient from another counter. Chocolate chips. So the bowl… Loki peeked in. Cookie dough. Score. He swiped his finger into the bowl and was in the process of licking it clean by the time she turned back. She just sighed. “I suppose we have more important things to discuss than whether you should be eating raw cookie dough. It’s not good for you, you know.”

“Ahh, but we have more important things to discuss. Like the fact that I just got home. It’s positively scandalous of me.” He grinned at her, knowing that while she probably wasn’t thrilled with it, she wasn’t going to judge.

She gave him a surprisingly hard look, and he paused in his ‘Frigga is a softie’ train of thought. Was he actually in trouble? “How long have you known him?”

“Ummm… in passing, or personally?” Why on Earth hadn’t he just given her the first answer instead of asking if she wanted clarification? Oh yeah, he sucked at lying to his mother.

She raised an eyebrow. “There are two options? Both, then.”

He sighed. “About a year, and… three days.” Oh, that sounded bad.

Her eyebrow raised. People wondered where he got that look. “Three days?”

“Is it better if I say I’ve been trying to get him… to go out with me for months?” Dammit. It was like there was a checklist of mistakes he could make in this conversation, and he was going through each one as they went on.

“Have you really?” She started stirring the chocolate chips into the cookie dough.

That was good. He could help! That would distract her from being angry, wouldn’t it? He hopped down off the counter and started pulling cookie pans out of a cupboard. “I know it sounds awful, Mother, but I really like him.”

“And have you invited him to Thanksgiving?” Her tone said that she knew he hadn’t.

He sighed. “Thor and Odin wouldn’t approve.”

“Thor is just fine with you bringing a boy home, silly. And for your father, he’ll just have to deal with it.” She paused thoughtfully. “Unless there’s some other reason you think your brother won’t approve?”

Dammit! “He’s not taking advantage of me,” he blurted out without thinking at all. Dammit, dammit, dammit. He had to refrain from banging his head against the cupboard door.

She stilled. “How old is he, Loki?”

Crap. “I… don’t know?” She turned to look at him and waited. He squirmed under that scrutiny. “Thirty-ish?”

She actually seemed a bit relieved, which was odd. Did she think he was trolling retirement homes? She started to turn around, then stopped. “So why would I think he was taking advantage of you, Loki?”

He sighed. Honestly. Could he have screwed this up more? He set the cookie pans down and leaned on the counter. “Is it too late to try to sneak in?”

“Loki…” The warning tone in her voice was out of character, and it could mean only one thing. She was not going to have the joking until he had her reassured that things were okay.

He checked the doors to make sure no one was listening, then sat in one of the barstools and slumped over the counter. “He’s one of my professors.”

She gasped. “Loki! Did he offer to change your grade in exchange-”

“No, Mother! It’s nothing like that. I’m the one who’s been pursuing him. He was offended by the idea that he would change my grade because of this. I promise, Mother. This has nothing to do with his position. He’s not taking advantage.” The words came tumbling out, as they too often did in conversation with his mother.

Her scowl did not lessen. “He’s in a position of power over you, Loki. He can’t _not_ be taking advantage.”

He blushed. “He’s not, Mother. I promise. I…” Oh gods, he couldn’t actually tell her. How could he get it across without discussing _that_? Wait, he could tell her the before-truth. “His class is the one I’ve been failing. I was doing it on purpose. I thought I could _get him_ to take advantage by begging him to raise my grade.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Loki! How could you put that poor man in a position like that!”

“I didn’t!” he promised desperately. “He realized I was struggling and tried to help me catch up before I ever had a chance to try. And I did; I caught up.”

“And your grade in that class?” Her hands were on her hips. At least she was angry with him and not the professor.

“After he grades my late work? Probably an A-. Maybe a B+. With no help from him other than accepting my late homework.” He bit his lip and awaited judgement.

“You promise, Loki? You haven’t put him in a compromising position?” She picked up her mixing spoon again and brandished it at him. “If you ruin his career, Loki, you’ll have ruined any chance at a real relationship.”

“I know, Mother. Why do you think I didn’t invite him for Thanksgiving?” He held his hands in front of him, as though showing that he wasn’t hiding anything in his palms. “No one can know we’re dating until after I’ve finished his class.”

She lowered the spoon. “And you thought that through?”

“Yes.” He couldn’t help the blush that formed on his cheeks, and he couldn’t look her in the eye. Oh gods, the things he was thinking about in respect to his professor. Why was the most embarrassing one the fact that he wanted to keep him?

She smiled suddenly, tears forming in her eyes. “Oh! My baby is in love!”

“What? Mother, no, I-” before he could even finish the sentence, Thor burst into the room.

“What’s this? Is that why you didn’t wish Natasha to know what you were doing last night?” He was loud enough to wake the dead, but thankfully, probably not loud enough to wake Odin.

Loki cringed. “Well it certainly isn’t because I was with _Clint_ , Brother. Thank you for that image that I’ll never be able to bleach out of my brain.”

Thor stuck his hand in the cookie dough and shrugged casually. “What else was I to think, when you didn’t want your best friend to know what you were doing?”

Loki sighed. “I’m just-”

“Not ready to talk to Natasha about this yet. Yes, you said that last night. Should I be having the shovel talk with him?” Thor seemed quite serious, and Loki cringed again.

“No. Absolutely not. Not ever.” His relationship with the professor was not established enough to survive Thor yet. And really, if anyone needed a threat and questioning of his intentions, it was Loki.

Frigga threw them both for a loop by throwing out the related question that he’d been fearing earlier. “Were you safe, Loki?”

“Mother!” Fortunately, Thor was horrified and disgusted enough for both of them. Loki tried, and failed, to hide a snicker.

Frigga raised that eyebrow at him.

He sighed. “You spent years pressing this on us, Mother. You gave us both a box of condoms on our sixteenth birthdays. Do you really think I’d just ignore that?”

“That,” She shook her spoon at him again, “is not an answer, young man.”

Damn. “Yes, Mother.” Her eyes narrowed, and Thor sighed in relief, sticking his hand back in the bowl. She knew he was lying, and Thor thought the conversation was over.

She smacked Thor’s hand with the back of the spoon. “No touching the raw cookie dough. I need butter. Go to the corner store and buy me some.”

Thor looked shocked. “You forgot something for Thanksgiving, Mother? I think we should mark the date, nothing like that has ever happened before!” She gave him a look, and he put his hands up in defeat. “Yes, Mother. I shall return with butter posthaste.”

The moment the door closed behind him, she turned back to Loki. “Two grown men, and you didn’t even think of-”

How could he stop this without her getting even more angry? “We did, Mother! I swear, we-”

She cut him off angrily. “Just forgot? Didn’t care to wait like adults until you had the proper time and tools?”

“No! Nothing like that.” He leaned in to her, “I’m fine, Mother, I promise. And I’m going down to Planned Parenthood tomorrow just to be safe.”

“And him?” She lifted her chin stubbornly.

He smiled easily at this. “Him, too.”

He got the eyebrow again.

“I promise, Mother. We already talked about it.” He put a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye. “We’re not children, and we don’t intend to act like children.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. Then she put the spoon down and hugged him. “I’m happy for you, Dear.”

“Thank you, Mother.” He hugged back. “I’m… I’m happy, too. Thank you for… for everything.”

She smiled serenely at him. “Now, down to business. Is he coming for Christmas?”

Oh boy.

 

*

 

It was a good day, somehow. There was a lightness to the spirit of the morning that Loki had thought they’d lost forever sometime in his teens. Frigga and Thor and he spent the morning cooking (or in his case pretending to help cook), and chatting, and just generally enjoying each other’s company.

Thor and Loki acted like children, and Frigga laughed good naturedly and seemed as happy as Loki had seen her in years.

When Odin woke, Frigga gave Thor a quick “Don’t you dare talk to your father about your brother’s personal life,” and the whole thing didn’t come up again.

Frigga forced everyone to eat until they absolutely couldn’t eat any more. For Thor and his football player’s body, it took most of the afternoon. Loki took that chance to finish the very last of his Physics homework. Then Odin and Thor watched football while Frigga dragged Loki off to pump him for information about the professor.

Loki was careful not to refer to him as ‘the professor’ when talking about him in a romantic (Romantic? Really?) sense. So they talked about Anthony.

Frigga wanted to know all about him.

What did he teach? Physics.

How long had he been teaching? Hah, ten years, Loki knew that!

What about his family? He didn’t really have one.

What was he doing for thanksgiving if he didn’t have a family? Was he with friends? Oh boy. Telling his mother that he’d left his new… boyfriend… at home alone on a holiday was hard. He just knew she was judging him. She forced him to promise that he’d invite Anthony home for Christmas.

He pointed out the problems with openly dating when he was still in ~~the profe~~ Anthony’s class. She gave him the mother look that said ‘you should have thought about that before you jumped in head first, shouldn’t you?’

So yes, he promised to ask Anthony to come home for Christmas. He didn’t tell her that he wasn’t even going to think about bringing it up until the middle of December. He didn’t want to scare his professor off with domesticity. He was already trying to figure out how to let Anthony kneel anywhere in the house without damaging his knees. He had images of pillows littering the floor of every room in his professor’s house. Actually, it wasn’t a bad idea. He figured that was domestic enough for now. Yeah, kneeling. Totally domestic.

Thinking about the professor kneeling precipitated his excusing himself for the evening and heading upstairs ‘to shower and sleep.’ So basically, to masturbate. Oddly, he felt a little bad about that. He wondered if the professor was doing the same.

Phone sex.

He flew through his shower, and checked the clock next to his bed. Eight o’clock. Plenty early. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. _”Professor?”_

As he waited for a response, he locked his bedroom door and closed the blinds. Then he turned on some music, just to be safe.

 _“Loki?”_ Popped up on his phone before he had even finished.

To start, inquiry instead of demand. _“Are you busy?”_

Immediately, the response came back, _“No.”_

Okay, now demand. _“Call me. Now.”_

His phone rang a few seconds later. “Hello.”

“Loki.” The professor sounded breathless. Loki’s cock twitched in response.

Loki managed to hold onto the phone while stripping out of his bathrobe. “What have you been up to today, _Professor Mine_?”

“Not much, Sir. I graded the homework my late student gave me yesterday.” The professor sounded nervous.

Loki smiled at the misdirection, but went along with it. “Oh? How did the miscreant do?”

“Brought himself back up to a B. Just need one more assignment to give him the A he ought to be getting.” There was a firm note in the man’s voice that made Loki smile even more. So true to his ethical boundaries, his professor.

“Good for him. Now why don’t we forget all about your students? I’d rather talk about what you’re wearing right now.” Loki lay his bathrobe on the back of his desk chair, and lay down on his bed.

There was a pause, followed by a slightly shamed voice. “Nothing, Sir.”

“Oh? And what has my bad _professor_ been up to, that he’s wandering about naked?” Loki’s cock was hardening just thinking about the directions the conversation could go.

There was an indrawn breath on the line, followed by another breathy response. “I never got dressed this morning, Sir. I’ve been naked all day.”

Oh… Loki’s hand went immediately to stroke himself. “And did you eat?”

“Y-yes, Loki.” The professor’s breathing was speeding.

“ _Professor_ ,” he put a warning note in his tone. “Are you touching yourself right now?”

“Mmmh…yes, Loki.” The whimper that followed was absolutely perfect. He must know what was coming next.

“Stop.” Gods, Loki felt wicked. He stroked himself again, just to remind himself that he was calling shots.

Anthony whimpered again. “Yes, Sir.”

“Have you stopped?” Loki put on his best patient, sympathetic tone for this.

“I… I have, Loki. Can I?” His professor’s voice sounded frantic already. Gods, what he wouldn’t give to see those eyes just now. Pleading and desperate, looking to him for permission.

“What did you eat, _Professor_?” Loki teased.

There was a moment’s hesitation as the man thought. “Chicken, Sir. A Caesar Salad. Please, Loki?”

Loki decided not to take mercy just yet. “Please what, _Professor_?”

“Oh god… please, can I touch myself, Loki?” That needy voice was going to be Loki’s undoing one day. The way he used his submissive tone to manipulate was flawless.

“Now, Sweet, what is it that has you so worked up? I’ve just been asking you about you day.” Loki pretended sympathetic understanding once more.

“Your voice, Loki. Oh god, your voice. It makes me crazy. It makes me want to… please?” Did the man know that he was death-by-sex? Loki’s voice. He was turned on by hearing Loki’s voice asking about his day. Well then, what if Loki’s voice gave him a real reason to be turned on?

“Why should I give you what you want, when you’ve been so bad, _Professor_?” The whimper from the other end of the line made Loki’s cock jump. “You were touching yourself without permission. Was this the first time today?”

There was a long hesitation. “No, Sir.”

Jackpot. “ _Professor_!” Loki put on a shocked tone. “What did you do?”

“I… I masturbated, Loki. A f-few hours ago in the shower.” The man’s breathing was speeding again, but Loki had no doubt that his professor was following his orders. That, by itself, was fucking sexy. The fact that he seemed to have given Loki control over whether he was allowed to orgasm even when they were apart? Loki was going to show him just how that made him feel tomorrow morning.

“And what were you thinking about?” He knew what the answer would be, true or not, he just wanted to hear it.

There was a pause. Wait, that wasn’t good. “I… I was thinking you might be angry with me for masturbating, Loki.”

What? “And did that get you off, Professor?” Loki couldn’t help it, he was genuinely curious.

There was a small whimper before the professor answered. “I thought… I thought you might spank me for doing it, Loki. I-I know I shouldn’t do bad things to make you punish me. It’s wrong. I don’t mean to be a brat, Sir.”

“Oh, don’t you?” Loki made himself sound dubious. “Aren’t you still hoping I’ll spank you for masturbating without permission?”

“No! I-” The professor cut off mid-denial and paused a moment. “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Loki. I was being bad just so you would spank me.”

Loki switched back to his best soothing tone. “Oh, my Anthony, if you want me to spank you, all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to act out.”

“You’re not angry with me, Loki?” The professor sounded somehow relieved and disappointed.

“No, _Professor_ ,” he said forcefully. “I am not angry with you. I do, however, intend to give you correction for your bad behavior. And from now on, you will be good and ask for correction instead of acting out for my attention. Yes?”

The gasp on the other end of the line forced him to stop stroking himself, if he didn’t want to go off too early. “Yes, Loki. Next time I need correction, I’ll ask for it. And I won’t masturbate without your permission again.”

“Stroke yourself now, my Anthony. Softly. Slowly.” Loki finally switched to his bedroom voice, and set to giving his professor what he really wanted.

“Yes, Loki.” The responding whisper was almost too low to hear.

Now, how to make this something his professor would remember. Well, he had gotten off on just thinking of Loki spanking him before. How about this? “I hope you understand that I’ll have to correct your behavior first thing tomorrow, _Professor_. Before breakfast. I don’t want you forgetting what you’re being punished for.”

“Yes, Loki. Is there… anything you’d like… me to… do?” His voice was being punctuated by harsh panting.

Loki chuckled darkly. “Slow down, Sweet. No rushing to the finish line.”

A whimper. “Yes, Loki.”

“You’ll meet me at the door naked.” Loki instructed, continuing to modulate his voice as low as it would go. He mentally thanked Frigga for his childhood voice training. “And we’ll conduct your spanking in the kitchen. I’m going to bend you over the counter, and make you thank me for every smack.”

The other end of the line was all whimpers and soft moaning.

“Now, _Professor_ , you’re not going to come without permission again, are you?” Loki grinned, and sped his own hand. It didn’t matter, they weren’t even in the room together, but he wanted to come in time with his professor.

A sob. “No, Loki. Please, Loki?”

“Please, my sweet? Please what? You’re going to have to do better than that.” The images flashed through his head, his professor lying on his own bed, stroking his cock, biting his lip hard, straining to keep himself from coming until he had permission.

“Please, Loki, can I come?” That breathy plea was going to do Loki in. “I’m sorry for being a brat. I won’t do it again. Please?”

“Say my name again.” He didn’t know why, but hearing his name on the professor’s lips was the sexiest thing in the entire fucking world.

“Loki!” The professor sucked in a deep breath, and let it out as slowly as he could, giving Loki exactly what he wanted. “Loki… Loki… Oh Gods, Loki… Loki…”

“Come for me, Sweet.” He just listened for a moment, slowing his strokes.

“Loki! Oh... L-L-Lo” Oh, there it was. Loki started stroking himself with abandon. “Loki! Fuck, Loki! Loki!”

Loki came quietly, not wanting to miss a moment of his professor whimpering his name. The grin that followed was positively predatory. His sweet professor, still whimpering his name as he came down from orgasm. What could be sexier?

The whimpers died away to panting, and the panting to deep cleansing breaths. “Loki?”

“Yes, _Professor_?” His professor sounded so lost, so nervous. Loki wished he could be there to reassure him. To hold him. Gods, he’d really gone sappy.

“Did… did you? Do you need..?” Anthony was asking him if he had finished. How sweet.

Loki laughed.

“Sir? I’m sorry, I-” That fear was back in his voice, and Loki didn’t like it one bit.

“Stop.” Loki waited to make certain that the professor had quieted before continuing. “My Anthony, do you honestly think that I could possibly listen to you come so sweetly with my name on your lips, and not follow suit? I promise you, Sweet. You have completely satisfied me.”

“Thank you, Loki.” There was a glowing smile in his voice, and it wasn’t just coming down from an orgasm. Loki decided then and there that his professor needed more praise in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ringtone is ‘I Can’t Decide’ by Scissor Sisters, and if you do not know it, you should. I 'borrowed' it from Doctor Who, because I thought it fits Loki and Thor’s relationship pretty well.
> 
> I’m sure I meant to make other notes, but I don’t think y’all are here to read my notes anyway. Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I knew I forgot something! My beautiful talented beta, asgardianabsinthe/agentromvnoff! Did I mention her awesomeness?


	4. Natural Habitat

Loki woke at 6AM, ‘You’ll meet me at the door naked’ ringing through his head. How was he going to live three hours until that happened?

Time to do sensible things, he supposed. Finish the other work he’d brought home to do during break, half an hour. Finish his monthly budget, something Odin insisted upon as long as he was paying for Loki’s expenses, another twenty minutes. He wondered if there was a way to sneak in things he needed to buy for his professor. Miscellaneous dating expenses? Yeah, probably not. It was good that he’d always been sensible with his money before, because now he could think of a hundred easy ways to spend his savings on his professor. Forget rent on an apartment after he finished college; that was ages away. His professor needed an army of throw pillows to kneel on NOW.

He unsuccessfully tried to read for almost an hour before giving up. Then he showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. Frigga was up and making breakfast. Damn. How could he have forgotten that this would happen?

“Morning, Mother.” He said, dutifully taking a glass of orange juice from the counter. “Did I forget to mention that I’m planning to go out for breakfast?”

She gave him her best Queen Victoria ‘we are not amused’ look, and nodded. “Yes, you did. And what is so important that you can’t eat breakfast with the family?”

He couldn’t seem to stop the blush from creeping across his face. “I… I told you where I’m going this morning, Mother.” He tried to subtly remind her of his intentions to go to Planned Parenthood without actually saying it out loud. He followed it up with a drink of orange juice so that he wouldn’t have to look her in the eye.

“And you can’t have breakfast first?” The woman was like a tornado of motherly intentions. He had to get tested, he had to eat breakfast with the family, he had to bring his boyfriend home for Christmas because he’d failed so utterly at Thanksgiving… Yes, that.

“I promised I’d eat breakfast with Anthony, Mother. He doesn’t have a family to spend the weekend with, remember?” He tried hesitantly, trying not to be too heavy-handed with the guilt tripping. He wasn’t a mother, he’d never be as good at it as she was.

She seemed to consider this for a moment. “You could have invited him home.” Then she broke off and sighed. “No, I suppose you couldn’t. You _are_ bringing him home for Christmas, aren’t you, Loki?” The combination of maternal affection and consternation was almost too much to bear.

“Yes, Mother.” He put his hand over his heart. “I promise to ask him home for Christmas dinner.”

She shook her head. “The whole day. I want to buy him a present. What does he need?”

Loki’s mouth fell open. How could he answer that? He needs replacements for the sex toys I made him lock away? We could use an economy pack of condoms? Leather bondage gear? He was blushing again, he could feel it.

Once again, Thor sauntered into the kitchen in the middle of a conversation. “Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Brother.” He paused, looking at both of them in turn. “Are we discussing Loki’s secret boyfriend again?”

Loki scowled at him. “I do not have a secret boyfriend. I have to go.” He downed the last of his orange juice, kissed his mother on the cheek as he handed her the empty glass, and made his way out of the house as quickly as possible without running.

Thor’s laughter followed him out, along with his mother’s quiet statement, “You promised me, Loki. Talk to him.”

Well damn.

Fortunately, the distraction of horrifying conversation with family had taken the rest of his extra time, and he was right on schedule for breakfast and a spanking. He never thought he’d have to say that sentence even in his head.

He was determined to do ‘the right’ Dom thing this morning. He would give his professor what he needed, and not take advantage. Was having sex with him taking advantage, when the professor wanted…?

Loki was in so deep he wasn’t even sure which way was up anymore.  He just had to trust the professor to lead him in the relationship, and his instincts to tell him when the professor was asking for things he shouldn’t give. It had all felt right in that deliciously oh-so-wrong way so far. He wondered if he’d be able to tell the difference between ‘wrong’ and WRONG when it came up.

He pulled up to the professor’s drive at five minutes till nine, punched in the gate code, and went to park his car next to the professor’s Audi. He swallowed his nerves, reminding himself that the professor wanted what he was about to do as much as he did. More, really.

He wondered if sometime, it might be okay with Anthony to just have sex, and talk about regular things like science and politics.

He stepped out of his car and walked up to the door at 9AM exactly. There was a key sticking out of the lock.  

Gathering up his courage, he assumed the key was for him, unlocked the door, and slipped inside. He found the professor, kneeling in the foyer across from the door, stark naked. He pulled the key out of the lock and started to set it down on the table next to the door, only to hear a vague noise from the direction of his professor.

“You have something to say, _Professor_?” Loki asked lightly, trying to keep all censure out of his tone.

The professor looked up at him, head still facing the floor. “You can keep the key if you want to, Loki.”

A key to his house? The gate code? That seemed a bit… like he was giving Loki control, not like he was proposing marriage. Loki had taken the role of dominant, and the professor was accepting that, nothing more.

Loki nodded. “I shall do so, then.” He pulled his key ring out of his pocket and put the professor’s house key onto it right then, slowly and deliberately. _I’ll see your submission, and raise you a show of dominance, Professor Mine._

The professor watched avidly, as though Loki moving keys was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“I believe you were to have breakfast prepared. Do you?” Loki asked, slipping the altered keys into his pocket again.

“Yes, Loki.” Anthony’s eyes skipped back toward the floor. Loki found that he missed looking into those beautiful eyes when his professor was feeling particularly submissive. He could live with that, though, as long as there would be other times.

“And what did you make?” Loki asked lightly, curious.

The professor bit his lip, the way he seemed to do when he was worried that Loki was bothered. “French Toast, Sir.” He also seemed to revert to ‘Sir’ whenever he thought Loki would be displeased. Loki noted this, and filed it high on his ‘to be considered later’ list.

“That sounds lovely, Anthony,” he said in a low purr. “Take me to the kitchen.”

Anthony shivered and nodded, whispering, “Yes, Loki.”

He slipped forward from his sitting position onto his hands and knees, and glided down the hallway in front of Loki, ass swaying back and forth as he crawled forward. Loki followed, and quite enjoyed the show.

They arrived in the kitchen to the smell of coffee and warm maple syrup, reminding Loki of home. Then, the spotless Spartan kitchen with its single place setting on the counter took that away, in the best possible way. The lower side of the counter was nearer the door they had entered, and it had a single condom lying on it. The professor seemed to have expectations that went with his spanking. Loki’s cock had already sprung to life watching his naked professor crawl the hallway for him, but this was another thing entirely.

“You remember what comes next, _Professor_?” Loki asked in his quiet bedroom voice, hoping that it would relieve some of the tension in the professor’s back. He wanted this. He had asked for it. But he was nervous. Well, so was Loki. He had never done anything like this before.

Anthony nodded. “Sir is going to give me the spanking I earned yesterday for touching myself without permission… and for trying to make him angry with me.” The last was said in a whisper, as though Anthony was afraid of it, and his body language changed from submissive to outright cowering at the same time. Loki did not like that in the least.

“Very good, _Professor_.” Loki reached out and ran a hand through Anthony’s hair. “Over the counter, now.”

The professor seemed to relax a bit at Loki’s actions, and slowly pulled himself up to lean across the counter.

Loki took the condom from the counter and held it up. “You have some expectations of needing this, _Professor_?”

Anthony whimpered. “I-I didn’t know, Sir. I just thought it should be there in case you wanted it.” He failed to meet Loki’s eyes.

“ _Professor Mine_ ,” Loki ran a soft hand through his professor’s hair again, and down his back before settling on his ass. “This morning isn’t about me. It’s about you. You require correction, and I mean to see that you have it.”

The professor gave a soft moan, and leaned into Loki’s touch. “I’m sorry, Loki. I should have known you’d give me what I needed.”

“Your apology is accepted, _Professor_. Your concern is unnecessary.” Loki rubbed little circles into his professor’s beautiful ass. “You had no way of knowing if I was capable of giving you what you needed. In the future, you will know to always ask, yes?”

“Yes, Loki.” The professor looked up at him with languid eyes and parted lips, so much more relaxed than a few moments earlier that he hardly seemed the same person. It took every ounce of Loki’s willpower not to just pull him into his arms and kiss him senseless.

Instead, Loki took his hand from the professor’s ass, braced himself, took a deep breath, and smacked. The professor cried out, but the sound wasn’t particularly pained. That soothed Loki’s nerves. “That’s one, _Professor_. Your job?”

“Thank you, Loki.” His voice was so full of sex that Loki almost had to walk away. Please, let him have the strength to get through this without acting inappropriately.

He gave another hard smack. “Two.”

An outright moan followed. “Thank you, Loki.”

And so they continued for another twenty-some strokes, the professor’s voice cracking and the odd whimper escaping when Loki managed a truly hard spank. Nothing in the professor’s stance or voice indicated fear or hesitation any longer, though, so Loki was feeling quite a lot more confident. It was getting more sexy the more comfortable he was with it, but he didn’t want to lose track of his purpose, so he decided to gauge the professor’s mental situation.

“Twenty-four.” Loki said decisively, and immediately followed up with, “does my _Professor_ require further correction?”

“Thank you, Loki. Yes p-please, Loki.” There was a desperate sort of plea in that sweet voice, and Loki couldn’t bring himself to deny it, so they continued for another few dozen blows.

Loki was starting to feel dirty for getting so hard from spanking his professor, when he realized that the other man was even harder than he was. Anthony’s ass was rosy and practically glowing from the abuse Loki had given it, and Loki’s hand was throbbing. If it was any indication of how the professor’s ass felt, Loki had a clue what was making him so hard. Another thing he could mark as ‘strangely sexy.’

“Fifty.” Loki quietly informed his professor.

“Thank you L-Loki.” He was breathing heavily, and starting to struggle to say the words. Loki leaned forward to get a look at his professor’s face, and found tears in his eyes. He had the distinct feeling that if he asked, the professor would ask that he continue, so he made the decision for both of them.

“Very good, _Professor_.” He walked around behind the other man and rubbed his ass soothingly with both hands. He was rewarded with the sharp hiss of indrawn breath, immediately followed by a deep moan. The professor tensed a bit, looking as though he wanted to speak, but Loki rubbed harder, eliciting another, louder moan.

Loki reached out and threaded a hand into the professor’s hair, gently tugging him upward until he was standing upright. Then, he pulled him backward until they were standing tightly together, and the professor could surely feel his erection.

“Very, very good,” he whispered softly, reaching around to take the professor’s cock in his hand. “You may come when you need to, _Professor_.”

Anthony’s head fell back against him, moaning and pressing himself slightly into Loki’s hand. When Loki pulled him in, he immediately started grinding his ass against Loki’s front, and then whimpering at the pressure against his rosy backside.

Loki stroked, and Anthony moaned weakly in time with the motions. It took less than a minute before Anthony gasped in ecstasy and spent himself in Loki’s hand. When he was finished, he leaned weakly into Loki focused on righting his breathing. Loki focused on not dry humping the man in front of him, and happily succeeded.

After a moment, the professor looked down at Loki’s hand and frowned. Slowly and deliberately, he reached down and captured Loki’s wrist in both hands, pulling it up to his lips. He seemed to be waiting for Loki to stop him or encourage him, but Loki decided to let him make his own decision in this.

“As you like, or not, Professor,” Loki told him.

Anthony licked Loki’s thumb. “I think I really should clean up after myself. Especially with how well Sir is taking care of me.”

Loki refused to rut into the man’s backside, however worked up he got. He couldn’t help the low sound he made in his throat, though, something between a growl and a whine.

“Does Sir want me to… do anything for him?” Anthony asked, as he continued licking every inch of Loki’s hand.

“I told you, _Professor_ , this was for your correction. It was not about me.” Oh gods, why wasn’t it about him? It could be about him, couldn’t it? No, he’d made a decision, and he was going to stand by it. Anthony would know that this wasn’t just about what Loki could get out of it. The professor ground his backside against Loki’s erection once more, maybe just to prove to them both that it was really there, and let the subject drop.

After Anthony licked his whole hand clean, he let go of it. “Should I finish breakfast so that you can eat too, Loki?” He sounded positively smug.

“Do, Anthony.” Loki walked to the sink and washed his hands in cold water, half wishing to ice his right hand, and half wishing to ice his whole damned body.

He turned back to the counter after a moment to find the professor sliding a mug of coffee in next to the plate. Their eyes met for a moment, and the professor disappeared behind the counter as he slipped down onto his knees.

Loki went to take his seat, pausing a moment to appreciate the scene of his professor kneeling next to his chair. Then, he frowned. “Have you an extra throw pillow somewhere in the house, _Professor Mine_? I realize it isn’t in the aesthetic of the décor, but surely there must be something…”

The professor considered a moment and then nodded. “I think so. Is something wrong, Sir? I-”

“Go. Find it and bring it to me,” he ordered.

Without another word, Anthony stood and went to follow the command. A moment later, he came back with what looked to be a serviceable cushion, and handed it shyly to Loki. He looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained.

It occurred to Loki that the professor might enjoy kneeling on the tile, but he hoped not. He would much rather pamper than punish. He dropped the pillow to the side of his chair and pointed to it. Anthony looked from him, to it, and back again, before sliding back into place on his knees.

Loki ruffled his hair affectionately. “Now we can eat.”

Anthony flushed, pressing his head into Loki’s hand.

Once again, Loki cut the first bite of the meal and held it to his professor’s lips. It only seemed right, considering the fact that he had been the one to prepare it. Anthony opened his mouth obligingly, and held Loki’s eyes for a moment as he chewed. Loki continued to watch him as he took a bite of his own. He was impressed again; Anthony really was quite good in the kitchen.

Once again, he alternated bites, making sure that the professor got as much as he did. The professor accepted everything given him, so Loki started watching carefully for reactions and altering what he offered based on observation. Again, their eyes met over a bite of food, and Loki dearly wished he could read the expression in his professor’s eyes. He didn’t think it was negative. Curious? Surprised? Confused? Turned on? Well the last was certainly true, if the way he ate was any indicator.

Loki hadn’t ever considered eating sensually to be an art before, but if it was, the professor was a practitioner. He savored every bite, closing his eyes and occasionally licking his lips, then slightly parting them to indicate that he was done. By the time they were finished, Loki was ready to excuse himself to the restroom before he embarrassed himself by coming without the professor even touching him.

The professor leaned forward and nuzzled his hand, something Loki now realized meant that he wanted to speak. Loki tipped his head up and gave him an inquiring look. “ _Professor?_ ”

“You… you said that I could suck you later. Is it later enough?” Loki couldn’t help but smile at the wording, like a child asking a frazzled parent for ice cream for the tenth time.

He ran his hand through Anthony’s hair. “As you like, _Professor_. Here, or upstairs?”

“I-” the professor stuttered, looking surprised at the question. “Here, please.” He whispered, biting his lip in the nervous gesture that Loki wanted to erase from existence.

“Whatever my professor wishes,” he smiled, and turned to face Anthony. “The condom?” He motioned to where it still lay on the other side of the counter.

Instantly, the professor sprang into action, going to retrieve the condom and coming back to immediately reach for Loki’s zipper. Here, he hesitated, looking up for permission. Loki smiled reassuringly. “You have my permission. Presume that to be the case until we’ve finished here, hmm?”

The grin that broke over Anthony’s face was more than worth the offhand words. Well, apparently offhand. Loki had been practicing how to say things like that in his head for two days. It was surprisingly complicated, giving permission that wasn’t too much or too little. He thought he had largely mastered the subtleties of normal conversation, but dominance without being an ass seemed to be a fine line, at least in his mind.

Meanwhile, the professor was no longer worried about words or permissions. He was already rolling the condom onto Loki’s ridiculously hard cock, and then immediately leaning down to push himself all the way onto it. Fuck, but that was incredible. Anthony was incredible. How could anyone not want to have him?

He moaned on Loki’s cock, and Loki had to bite his tongue to distract himself enough to last at least a little while longer. Thor in a bikini hadn’t worked. Counting the tiles on the floor? Nope. Christmas. Oh… that helped a bit. Then his professor whimpered around his cock, and he looked down to find concerned brown eyes staring up at him.

“You’re doing fine, _Professor. Too_ fine.” He tried to make him understand without going into embarrassing detail, but Anthony seemed to understand. He smiled around Loki’s cock, and got a wicked little mischievous look in his eyes. Loki liked that look, he decided. He wanted to see it more often. Then thought was swept away when Anthony pushed all the way down, and started swallowing around him. “Oh gods, how the hell do you do that?” He asked unthinkingly.

Hmm… probably not the sort of inquiry that the professor was looking for. On the other hand, he gave Loki another sly look, and swallowed again, hard. It was too much. Loki came, staring into Anthony’s eyes.

It was an odd sort of intimacy, that look. Both in the same situation, but in completely different mental places. That was when Loki saw what Anthony enjoyed so much about this activity. Anthony on his knees, Anthony submissive, Anthony with all the power. He was in control of himself, and he was in control of Loki’s orgasm, which meant control over Loki.

The awareness of the power shift was disarming. Loki felt his mouth fall open, either in shock or a need to breathe harder, he wasn’t sure which.

Anthony slowly let Loki’s cock fall from his beautiful lips, looking first smug and then concerned. “Sir?” He sounded nervous. “Did I do something wrong?”

Loki found himself grinning like a fool. “Of course you didn’t, my wicked professor. You were utterly flawless. But you know that, don’t you?” He cupped Anthony’s face in his hands and drew him up for a long, rather intimate, kiss. It left them both breathless.

Anthony dropped back to his knees, breathing heavily. He gave Loki a shy smile. “Thank you, Loki.” He was a bit flushed, and it wasn’t just from the lack of breath. Yes, he needed a lot more praise in his life. He put his head on Loki’s thigh and slowly put Loki to rights, looking briefly up for permission to go rid himself of the condom.

Loki nodded agreement, and then watched gratefully as his professor crawled to the trash and back. Anthony saw him watching and smiled shyly, he started to tuck his lip between his teeth in that familiar gesture, but seemed to think better of it. He kneeled in front of Loki again and put his head back in his lap.

Loki ran his hand through Anthony’s hair absently while downing the last of the coffee. “Now, Professor, we have a little detour to make in our day to see about some testing, and then…” Loki paused mostly for effect, already knowing what he planned to say. “What would you like to do?”

Anthony looked up at him in surprise and blurted out, “Me?”

Loki nodded patiently. “You, Anthony. I wish you to choose something you want to do for the afternoon.”

Anthony pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment, then blushed. “Well…” He started to pull that lower lip between his teeth, and Loki reached down with his left hand and pulled it back out.

Loki shook his head. “No worrying. No shame. Just tell me what you want.”

“We could go out for lunch.” Anthony said in a still-worried voice. “Or we could go replace some of the things I put away. You know – so you can use them.” As he often did, he dropped his voice as he reached the latter half, as though he was saying something he might get in trouble for.

Some of the things he had put away… oh. That. Well, Loki had known that keeping a submissive wasn’t going to be cheap. Good thing he had that money saved.

Anthony tried to retract, “We don’t have to-”

“That sounds like an excellent plan, Anthony. I think we’ll do both.” Loki smiled at him, continuing to card his fingers through beautiful chocolate brown hair. “I’m afraid you’ll have to dress first, unfortunately.”

 

*

 

Three hours later, blood tests finished, they decided on lunch in a quiet bistro Anthony favored on the edge of town. Largely, this was because the shop that Anthony had been talking about was nearby.

The hostess, a pretty girl about Loki’s age, seemed to recognize Anthony. This theory proved fact when she smiled brightly and said, “Mr. Stark, how nice to see you!”

Anthony grinned roguishly at her, “Heya, Dollface, how you doin’?”

Loki did not get whiplash from the speed of his double-take at Anthony, but it was a close run thing.

The girl, on the other hand, just continued beaming at Anthony. “I’m fine. But you never showed up to take me away to Tahiti, you cad.”

Anthony laughed. “Sorry, turns out I have this whole ‘job’ thing, and a contract that says I have to show up for it. It’s crazy.”

She giggled like a teenage girl on a date with Thor, and when she finally turned to Loki, he fully expected the mood to sour. Instead, she smiled brilliantly at him and shot a look back at Anthony. “Wow, Mr. S, look at you go. I knew when you finally won the lottery it was gonna be a jackpot.”

Anthony blushed a bit at that, but the smile never slipped from his face. “Um, yeah. This… this is Loki.” He slipped his hand down to take Loki’s and looked up at him, “This is Ginny. She’s worked here since before I was born.”

She chuckled and motioned them to follow. “Not quite that long, but at least a few centuries.” She put them at a quiet table in the back and handed them menus. “It’s nice to meet you, Loki.”

Loki nodded and smiled in acquiescence, not sure what to say. When he bowed his head to look at the menu, he saw her from the corner of his eye as she gave Anthony a thumbs-up and mouthed out ‘score!’ Anthony stifled a laugh and waved her off.

“Um, sorry about that, Sir,” Anthony said quietly.

Loki looked up at him, wishing his anxious reaction were more confusing. “About what? Having a friend? Acting like you obviously usually do?”

“It… It was disrespectful.” Anthony wouldn’t meet his eyes. Loki had a sudden image of the look he’d shared with Rhodes, and the comment about Anthony letting someone hurt him ‘again.’

“It was natural, and appropriate.” Loki smiled and reached out to take Anthony’s hand across the table. “And, I must add, rather endearing.”

Anthony’s eyes widened a fraction. “Endea-really?”

“I would prefer you not act like an automaton, Anthony.” He squeezed the hand in his tightly. “And I find that I rather like this side of you.”

Anthony sat up straighter and looked perkier. “Really?”

“Really.” Loki pulled on his hand a fraction, forcing him to lean forward. He leaned in and gave Anthony a peck on the lips, just in time for the waitress to show up at the table and ask for drink orders. It seemed that she also knew Anthony, as she was grinning down at them when they broke apart.

Anthony grinned back, “Hey, Katie.”

“Hello, Handsome.” She laid down napkins and gave them glasses of water. “Ginny told me you had a date, but I didn’t believe her. Told her that in the seven years we’ve been open, you’ve never brought a date here.”

Anthony blushed even brighter.

Loki grinned. “If the lot of you don’t stop this, he’s going to pass out from all the blood in his body rushing into his face.”

She laughed, and Anthony blushed more. “I can see why he’s dating you, Sugar, you’re as adorable as he is.”

“Oh no, Miss, that’s simply not possible,” Loki shot back, actually amused by interacting with strangers for the first time in his life. “Nothing could be as adorable as he is.”

The banter continued until she’d taken their orders and left them alone once again. Anthony was staring at him. “You’re having fun.”

“Is that a scientific observation, or an accusation?” He asked jokingly.

“It’s not! Either, I mean. It’s just… I was worried that you’d think this place was kind of, um…” Anthony trailed off, pulling his lip into his teeth.

Loki leaned across and kissed him again. “I am having fun. This place is fun. And we should come again.”

Anthony pressed forward and kissed him hard as he started to pull away. “I’m having fun, too.” He sounded genuinely surprised.

 

*

 

Loki had never been on such an easy date. Dating, in his experience, had always been difficult. It was awkward and boring, and entailed long silences where no one knew what to talk about next. He and his professor had so many things to talk about that it didn’t feel like they would ever run short.

Happily, since they were in public, they got to fulfil one of Loki’s silly fantasies where they had a long involved discussion about science. They talked about Loki’s plans for the future, and the fact that Anthony had started his adult life as an engineer with his own company. Anthony told him about the patents he had used to earn his money, and how he had sold the company and used the money to leave his career in engineering because he was being pressured to build weapons. Loki was quite certain from the hesitations and carefully chosen words that there was more there than Anthony was letting on, but who told everything in their history on a first date?

They discussed current headlines, and favorite books, and Loki didn’t think it was possible for a date to go better than this. It was a date, wasn’t it? They were dating? He had the sudden awful notion that the professor wasn’t interested in a real relationship. Could a ‘lifestyle’ relationship be like a normal one? Wasn’t that what they were doing now?

“Loki?” The professor’s voice sounded concerned. “Is everything okay?”

How to convey it without sounding like a needy child?

“I was just thinking that I hadn’t ever been on a better… date.” Loki hesitated on the last word, feeling for the first time like he was on a real date: waiting for rejection or acceptance.

The professor seemed to consider this for a moment, and then frowned, and Loki felt his chest constrict. What followed was a surprise, though. “I… I don’t think I’ve ever been on a date before. Oh god, that sounds pathetic.”

Loki grinned and grabbed his hand. “No it doesn’t. It can be the one thing I know more about than you do.”

The professor chuckled and shook his head, and that was the moment when the check was delivered. They both looked to it and reached for their wallets, then looked back to each other.

Katie, obviously realizing that a moment was needed, indicated that she had to take care of another table, but she would be back in a few minutes.

Anthony grimaced and nodded at her. He looked almost pained by the fact that money was to be discussed. He hesitated for a long moment, and Loki decided that this was where he was supposed to act. As Dom, or boyfriend, or whatever he was, something needed to be done before it got too awkward.

“Anthony, tell me what you’re thinking.” Loki gave the sentence a mild air of command, but nothing like when they were alone together.

Anthony responded in kind; doing what he was told, but not with any kind of urgency. He sat up a little straighter and sighed. “I have a lot of money, Loki.”

Loki couldn’t help it, he quirked an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“This is always a problem for… people.” Anthony leaned forward and took his hand. “I don’t want it to be a problem for you.”

“That you have money?” Ahh, Loki was beginning to see the picture a little more clearly. “And many men in my position find it to be awkward, that you prefer to pay for things.”

Anthony nodded, still looking at Loki intensely. “I don’t want it to be awkward. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t change who I am… at home.”

Loki quirked a half smile, and leaned in to give his professor another kiss. Instead of a mild peck on the lips this time, it was a slow, tender, passionate thing. It was innocent and family friendly, unless the family in question had issues that were not Loki’s problem, but he made sure to get his point across with the kiss.

He pulled back and looked into the professor’s slightly glazed eyes and asked, “does it feel awkward, Anthony?”

Anthony smiled dreamily and shook his head. “No, Loki.”

Loki gave the professor his toothiest smile and said, “I was wondering how I was going to keep you in the manner to which you are accustomed anyway.”

Anthony laughed out loud, relief and amusement blended in his face. He brought Loki’s hand up to his lips and kissed the tips of his fingers, one by one. “Just one more thing I can do for you.”

Without another word, he flipped a credit card onto the check and promptly went back to kissing Loki’s hand.

The waitress came back and took the card with a little ‘Awww,’ and that was the end of it.

Well, that was the end of it until they reached the shop the professor had mentioned, and Loki’s sticker shock got the best of him. He began to truly understand the value of what Anthony had been willing to throw away if he demanded it.

He felt a soft hand at the base of his spine, and another brushed his fingertips. “Everything okay? I know this place can be a little overwhelming.”

Overwhelming was one word for it. They seemed to specialize in not just sex toys, but ones specifically tailored to ‘the lifestyle’. They knew Anthony by name. Well, kind of. They called him ‘Tony’, a nickname which Loki was truly learning to dislike. They had every kind of whipping device known to man at prices that made Loki blush, and not a single lame DVD porn rack in sight. This place was serious.

“I just… don’t know anything about it.” Loki ran a hand across a row of leather handles. They were for show. The sale items were specially made by hand to fit each order. He looked back to Anthony, hoping for some kind of reassurance or input.

Anthony leaned in behind him and smiled shyly. “If you want, Loki, I could help lead you through it.”

That was even better. Oh yes. “I do, Anthony,” Loki purred back at him. “I want very much.”

This time when Anthony pulled his lip between his teeth, the effect was quite different. Loki didn’t want him to stop so much as he wanted to lean in and lick him.

“Hey, Tony, looking at something special today?” An older man came out of a back room behind the counter they were standing at. If he hadn’t been working at a sex shop, even an expensive one, Loki would have said he looked a bit like Santa Claus.

Anthony leaned a head on Loki’s shoulder and nodded. “Yeah, Art. Art, this is Loki. Loki, Art. He’s the artist who makes these lovely things.”

Loki was, against his will, impressed. “That must be an involved process.”

The man smiled at the two of them in an oddly fatherly way. “Oh, it’s not too bad when you’ve been doing it as long as I have. What were you looking for?”

“Need a new set of cuffs,” Anthony offered without hesitation. Then he looked over at Loki for reassurance, “and maybe something a little more specialized.”

Art looked oddly pleased. “Good. Those old cuffs of yours were crap.” Loki didn’t think they were talking about cuffs, but he wasn’t going to dig into Anthony’s past without express permission. He had an idea that he wasn’t going to like what he found there, and he didn’t want it to hurt Anthony any more than it obviously already had.

Anthony ducked his head a little, and it took him a moment to rediscover his voice. “You know what I need. Nothing fancy, just-”

This seemed important, so Loki interrupted. “The best. I assume that’s what you make, since Anthony comes here. But I want something that will abrade his wrists as little as possible.” Loki thought about it for a moment, a picture of the well-used black leather cuffs that Anthony had put away surfacing in his mind. “Can they be brown, to match his hair?” He reached back and ran a hand lovingly through the silken hair in question, distracted by it for a moment.

Art grinned approvingly at him. “I can do that.” He motioned to the leather display. “Anything else I can make for you, Loki?”

Anthony unsubtly ran his hand across a clump of leather strips, and looked at Loki.

Loki smiled at him. “Yes, I do think so.” He glanced at the labels, and then up at Art. “It seems Anthony has his heart set on something already.”

Art chuckled. “Well then let’s put together a flogger for you two.”

It was more than a little surreal, how blasé it all was. Of course, Anthony and Art had been living in this lifestyle since before Loki had really understood what sex was. In Art’s case, possibly before Loki was born. He gave Loki a rundown on types of leather and numbers of tails, and how much it was all intended to ‘sting’ or ‘thud’, and then of what the hell that was supposed to mean.

An hour and an enormous bill – that Loki allowed Anthony to pay without complaint – later, they left the store with nothing but a receipt and a date that everything would be ready for pick up. When Art had given it to Anthony, Anthony had in turn immediately handed it to Loki. He had folded it up and tucked it into his wallet, telling Art that he would be there to retrieve the items in ten days without fail.

He noted with interest when Anthony fingered a black leather collar on the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more fluff in this one, but well... yeah, let's be honest, it's a smutty story. Pretty much every chapter is probably going to have smut. Lots of people have been asking about standard snarky Tony, and how Loki would react to him, so I figured I'd throw a bit in here.
> 
> Thanks to Agentromvnoff and Plumadesatada for their help and input, as always!


	5. Pierced

By the time Loki left his professor that evening, he was exhausted, and sore, and in such a blissful haze that he _almost_ missed one of the last curves on the drive home and hit a crosswalk sign. Almost. He was quite glad he’d missed it at the last second; he didn’t want to have to explain that to Odin.

 _Sorry I crashed the car you bought me, I was busy thinking about sex_.

Yeah right.

Horrifyingly, Thor was waiting up. He was sitting in the family room next to the stairs that Loki had to climb, so there was no avoiding him.

“I suppose you need something?” Loki asked him preemptively as he stepped into the family room.

Thor frowned. “Mother is worried about this relationship of yours.”

Loki scowled at that. “Mother is fine. We’ve discussed it.”

“She won’t tell me his name.” Thor countered, looking far more serious than Loki was accustomed to. “She won’t tell me anything, in fact.”

As if of their own accord, Loki’s eyes rolled. “That’s because I asked her not to, Thor. I haven’t even told Natasha. Do you think I want everyone to know about it?”

“Brother… surely I am not a part of ‘everyone’, am I?” The great oaf looked hurt. Dammit.

Loki looked longingly at the stairs that lead to his bedroom. It occurred to him that Odin was also up those stairs, and the last thing Loki wanted was Odin anywhere near a discussion about his relationship. “Tomorrow, Thor.”

“Tomorrow?” Those great puppy eyes lit up, and Loki swore he saw a wagging tail somewhere behind his brother.

“Yes, tomorrow. We will go out for lunch, and we will speak of my relationship.” Loki crossed his arms over his chest and gave Thor a look that brooked no resistance. “Not before, not after, and you’ll promise to hear me out completely before jumping to conclusions. Agreed?”

Thor nodded enthusiastically. “Agreed!”

Loki went to sleep trying not to think about how that conversation would go.

 

*

 

He was having a second lunch with Thor, in less than a week.

Loki had to fight back a sigh when Thor showed up in his doorway at eleven, and declared himself ready for ‘their lunch’. He _had_ promised, though. And as much as he occasionally wanted to kick Thor in the shins, they were brothers, and he loved the big idiot.

He certainly wouldn’t have taken him out to lunch if he didn’t love him.

They were no sooner seated at the local diner than Thor started pressing. “So, Brother, tell me about this man you’re seeing.”

Loki tried not to die of mortification when the waitress appeared to take drink orders halfway through Thor’s demand. More importantly than her mere presence, she was the teenage daughter of the neighbors.

Noticing Loki’s displeasure and distraction, Thor looked up at the girl and then put on his sappiest grin. “Little Janie! Goodness, you’ve gotten taller!”

She took two glasses of water off her tray and set them down on the table, not quite masking her frown at Thor’s manner of address. Hm. That could be useful. Every girl wanted Thor. Thor was pretty much always oblivious unless they threw themselves at him. Jane wouldn’t, but Loki could throw her at him. It could make an excellent piece of distraction.

Loki took the straw she offered and grinned at her. “Miss Foster. I understand you’re leaning toward a science major. Any preferences?”

Thor snorted. “Little Janie hardly needs to worry about things like that, Brother.”

Amazing. While generally a reasonably intelligent human being, his brother was utterly dim when it came to matters of women. Loki was better with them, and he didn’t even want to sleep with them. Maybe that was the difference, in a sadly ironic way.

“Really, Thor.” Loki rolled his eyes at his brother. “Believe it or not, _little Janie_ is a freshman at university this year. She’s a little younger than you, Oaf, not a child.”

Thor looked confused for a moment, and paused in the middle of removing the paper from his straw. He looked up at Jane, who nodded emphatically. “And you’re going into science, with Loki?”

Loki had to stifle the distinct urge to bang his head on something. “Not _with_ me, Thor. She hasn’t even decided on a branch of science yet. Maybe you can infect her with your need to teach a new generation of filthy, diaper-wearing, drooling creatures.”

“His what?” Jane sounded horrified. “I… I was thinking maybe pre-med, actually.”

“I am going to teach elementary school, Janie-er, Miss Foster. My brother finds children repellant.” Thor shrugged apologetically, as though not liking children was the strangest thing he’d ever heard about, and required explanation.

Loki shrugged, and picked an imaginary piece of lint off his jacket. “Indeed he is. He plans to spend the rest of his life surrounded by children, first those of others, and then his own, once he finds the right girl. The _girl-next-door_ type, if I know my brother.”

Jane, smart cookie that she was, saw the game immediately, and they had a quickfire silent conversation:

Loki crooked an eyebrow. _Interested?_

Jane smiled brightly and half-nodded. _Are you kidding? Duh._

Loki nodded decisively. _Done._

Thor was looking at him oddly when he turned back. Damn. Well, it was hard to have a subtle two person conversation when there were three people present.

“I think I’ll have a glass of iced tea. What about you, Thor?” Loki tried to steer the subject away from the whole mess.

Thor nodded. “Iced tea sounds perfect, if you will, Miss Foster.”

“You’ve known her for almost twenty years, Thor. It’s Jane.” Loki corrected. Getting Thor to call her by her first name was rather a crucial first step in getting his brother off his back and onto Miss Foster’s.

“Jane.” Thor answered immediately. Then he gave her his insanely bright golden-child smile — the one that made all the girls swoon like romance novel heroines. Maybe it wasn’t going to be much of a challenge after all.

She took their drink order, such as it was, and went off to get their tea.

Thor looked speculatively at Loki. “You don’t think she’s a little young for me?”

“Don’t be stupid, she’s only three years younger than you. It was only important when we were in grade school, because girls had cooties, remember?” Loki crumbled the straw wrapper in his fingers, a nervous gesture that he thought was probably out of character for himself. Why was he so afraid of talking about Anthony to Thor?

“Is that not what you still think, Brother?” Thor chuckled at his own stupid joke, and took a drink of water. “But Jane is not the reason we have come here.”

Loki sighed. “No, Jane is not the reason we have come here.” He dropped the tattered remains of the paper to the table. “Why do we have to talk about this? I have a-a boyfriend. Isn’t it enough to tell you that?”

“If it were, you wouldn’t be so nervous to discuss him, Loki.” Thor tried to give him a reassuring smile and failed utterly.

It was hard to be reassured when if Thor knew what Loki was actually doing…. Well, he wouldn’t be smiling if he knew his brother had the receipt for a flogger sitting in his wallet. Thor had been so accepting of Loki’s homosexuality just a few months earlier. How could Loki throw this at him now?

He couldn’t.

“Is there something wrong with him, Loki? Is he hurting you?” Thor was suddenly leaning across the table looking deadly serious.

“What? No! Nothing like tha—” Of course, that was when Miss Foster arrived back with their drinks.

Thor, looking a bit reassured, flirted with the girl while giving her his order for a ridiculous cheeseburger with extra grease and a side of sugar-laden strawberry milkshake. It took effort, but Loki didn’t make a face.

Then the girl turned to him, and he realized that he hadn’t even glanced at the menu. “French Toast,” slipped out before he could even think it through. Thor gave him a funny look, but he ignored it and went on as though he always ordered breakfast food at eleven thirty. It wasn’t so odd. “And I’d like a cup of coffee, too.”

She smiled and nodded, leaving them to their conversation. She seemed pleased, obviously thinking that Loki had somehow helped, even though it had been all Thor, finally seeing her as a woman instead of the little girl next door. Oh well. He could demand that they name their firstborn after him anyway.

There was a blessed silence for a time while Thor watched the girl go, and then seemed to fall into a daydream. Finally, he turned back to Loki. “French toast, brother? For lunch?” He looked amused. “And coffee?”

“Are you honestly questioning my choices in food?” Explaining that slip was an even worse plan than confessing that he was dating Anthony. “I thought I was here for the third degree about my dating habits?”

Thor thought about it for a second, and then nodded. “Alright, if he’s not hurting you, then why is it such a secret?”

Loki sighed. Always with Thor, if it was feasible, honesty worked best. “He’s one of my professors. And before you ask, no he’s not changing my grade because of this, or threatening to fail me if I don’t sleep with him.”

Thor paused for a few minutes, digesting. The look on his face was curiously blank, as though he had been expecting something entirely different, and was having trouble making sense of the truth. “That’s it?”

Loki sighed, and not just in frustration. “Yes, that’s it. You were expecting what, a drug dealer in a motorcycle gang who beats poor little Loki for fun?”

For the first time possibly ever, Thor wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I admit, I was worried it might be something like that. The way mother spoke made me think that father wouldn’t approve of him, so I thought about what kinds of men father might disapprove of.”

“You mean, other than just ‘ones with penises’? He’s never going to be happy about me dating men, Thor.” Loki rolled his eyes and drank half his tea in one gulp, not even bothering with the damned straw. He needed more caffeine to live through this. Where was his coffee?

Frowning, Thor shook his head. “Father may struggle with understanding you, Loki, but he would never disapprove of your sexuality. It is not something you can control.”

He rolled his eyes. Gods, Thor was a ninny sometimes. “No, it isn’t. And I’m sure that’s just what all the fathers who had their sons committed to mental institutions for homosexuality thought.”

“That was a long time ago, Loki! Before we were even born.” Thor reached out and grabbed Loki’s hand. That was strange, even for the immensely touchy-feely person that Thor was. He knew Loki didn’t much like being grabbed. “Father loves you, Loki. And he will accept you for what you are. Now tell me about this professor.”

Diplomatically, Loki decided that talking about his professor was a better plan than talking about Odin any more. Also, Loki liked talking about his professor. “He teaches the advanced Physics classes at the university.”

That, of course, was when Jane came back with a tray of food, and of course, she’d heard at least some of what was being discussed. “You mean Doctor Stark?”

“He doesn’t really go by Doctor, but yes.” Loki tried not to look at her.

“Yeah, my friend Darcy calls him Stark the Shark. She says it’s impossible to pass his classes unless you already know physics before you start.” Jane set his French toast in front of him. It didn’t compare favorably to Anthony’s cooking.

Loki rolled his eyes. “That’s why he teaches _advanced_ Physics.”

Jane laughed, surprising Loki. “I figured it was something like that. Darcy’s PoliSci anyway, she’s not exactly planning to be a rocket scientist. Physics was just to fill her hard science requirements.” She set Thor’s heart attack on a plate in front of him, and — smart girl — she had unsubtly put a paper with her phone number right in front of it.

“Perhaps you will find his classes more enlightening, then, Jane,” Thor spoke, shockingly quietly for a change, and blushed. But then he nodded to her and took the paper off of the table, tucking it into his pocket.

She nodded sagely. “I think so. He’s some kind of super genius, you know. Used to own the biggest weapons manufacturing company in the country.”

“I wouldn’t ask him about that if I were you,” Loki swiftly interjected, thinking of his professor’s discomfort at the discussion of his past. “He doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Pausing, Jane looked at Loki for a moment and nodded. “Thanks. Again. Guess I owe you two.” And she walked away from the table, swinging her hips for Thor’s entertainment.

Turning back, Thor asked, “Two?” before stuffing his face full of cheeseburger.

When he was certain that the girl was out of earshot, he rolled his eyes and answered, “Her way of thanking me for telling you that she’s not five. She’s a lovely girl, and you should call her.”

Thor chuckled around cheeseburger, and when he swallowed, he grinned at Loki. “Remember when you used to get jealous of me dating?”

“I do not.” Loki cut off a piece of his lunch and ate it. It wasn’t the professor’s cooking by any means, but it wasn’t bad. And it reminded Loki of his lovely post-spanking breakfast. His mind wandered to the image of feeding his Anthony bites of breakfast and petting his beautiful chocolate colored hair. Then it occurred to him that getting hard over lunch wasn’t appropriate behavior in a public restaurant.

He looked up to find Thor staring at him. “What are you thinking of, Brother?”

“Nothing,” Loki answered far too quickly. Then, to cover it up, he invited more irritation. “So you’re not offended by my dating Anthony.”

Thor laughed. “According to Littl—to _Jane_ , he’s a genius who doesn’t have pity for the weak or foolish. I’d say he may be your perfect match, Brother.”

Loki smiled at that. His perfect match. More and more, he found himself hoping that to be true.

 

*

 

The weekend passed all too slowly, but it was probably because Loki had real life things to do that didn’t involve his beautiful professor kneeling in front of him. He called on both evenings, to make sure that all was well, and that his professor was seeing to his needs. Anthony was without doubt the kind of man who would forget to eat and sleep, if he wasn’t reminded.

He seemed particularly buoyant on Sunday night, though. He promised Loki that he had slept well, and eaten, and finished everything he meant to before going back to class the next day. He was positively breathless when Loki ordered him to jerk himself to orgasm.

Loki had never thought much of phone sex before, but he was liking the ability to have his professor whenever he wanted him. His beautiful voice, his rush to please, and his moans of ecstasy were the sort of things that would keep Loki warm at night, despite the November chill.

He was very much looking forward to class.

The next day, the first thing he had to do was make sure that Natasha had a ride home that wasn’t him. He didn’t make an excuse, and she didn’t ask for one. It was one of the reasons she was his best friend. She just said it would be a chance for Clint to prove what a good boy he was, by picking her up right on time. Loki wondered if he should ask her for tips to be a better Dom. He didn’t know for sure that she was in that kind of relationship, but her implications certainly felt that way.

After talking to her, he finished everything he could for class. When class time rolled around, he could barely contain his eagerness.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at the stack of papers tucked inside his notebook. “Time to beg for your A?” she asked in an amused tone.

“Not at all. I’m caught up.” He said faux-nonchalantly. “I’ve earned an A, and I won’t be missing any more homework.”

She did a double-take. “I thought the whole plan was—”

“I know what the plan _was_ , Natasha. The plan has changed.” He tried using a tone that offered no insight, but knowing Natasha, and how well she knew him, she had a clue that something was going on.

Once again proving why she was his best friend, she just nodded. “Okay.”

Loki was anticipating a difficult class. He was going to have to sit in the back of the room watching his professor from afar, while everything with a libido came on to him. Anthony would roll his eyes and be as bored with it as usual, and then go back to Physics with a bit of irritation in his voice. Loki hated when they made his Anthony angry.

It was not at all as Loki expected.

Anthony was smiling brightly when they walked in. “Miss Romanova, Mr. Burison.”

“Mr. Stark,” they said in unison.

Loki was bemused. What was Anthony so happy about?

“Aren’t you going to turn your homework in?” Natasha asked in a whisper.

Loki just smiled. “Oh, after class, I think.”

“You asshole. You’re not even going to tell me, are you?” She was grinning back.

“Nope.” He sat back in his chair and dropped his book on the table. “Maybe in a few weeks?”

She sat down and stared at him hard. “There’s still going to be something to tell in a few weeks, Loki? Are you sure?”

“As sure as you can ever be, Natasha.” He turned his attention to his professor as class started, and ignored his friend’s silly grin.

The class was a major insight to Anthony’s psyche. Whatever was going through his head, he seemed… happy. It was probably selfish, but Loki hoped it was he who had made that happen.

Not five minutes into class, he turned into the snark-master Loki had seen on Friday at the restaurant.

“Why yes, Mr. Jones, that’s exactly how we would do that problem… if we were still in high school physics. Fortunately, most of us are in college now, so we know the world isn’t quite as simple as a plus b equals c.” He spun turned the whiteboard to write out a problem, and Loki caught a glimpse of a slightly pained expression on his face. It was the pained expression of _his professor_ , though. The pained expression that said maybe he should sit down before his erection started showing through his suit, not that he felt unwell and was wishing class was over.

Loki thought of the plug he’d ordered Anthony to wear through class.

_He was wearing it._

Suddenly, his professor was not the only one fighting back an erection in the middle of class. Fuck, but that was hotter than it had any right to be. Everything was like that, when the professor was involved. Loki had to work to keep himself from tensing every time the professor sat down. Since he was watching for it, he even saw a little wince, once or twice.

When Anthony very deliberately made eye contact with him, then leaned hard against the edge of the desk and breathed in suddenly, it was all Loki could do not to ask Natasha to go pull the fire alarm.

“Okay, people, any questions that don’t involve things you should already know, or what I’m doing Friday night?” Anthony hopped all the way up to sit on the desk, causing himself to flinch a bit. Loki snuck a glance at the class, but they were all working or packing their things, since class was over in a few minutes.

Loki loved that Anthony hadn’t dismissed class early. It was probably strange, but it felt like a part of their game. Anthony was testing his limits as far as he could, and glancing at Loki now and then to make sure he hadn’t pushed too far. As though Loki would demand that he change the way he did his job.

Part of Loki wanted to ask a thoroughly detailed question that would end up keeping class late, and pissing everyone off. In the end, he wasn’t willing to wait that long. And he was afraid the professor would explode if he tried it.

“Alrighty, I’ll see you people on Wednesday.” Anthony grinned at them. “Remember while you’re doing your homework: I won’t judge you personally for getting things wrong, I’ll just give you an F.”

The class gave a collective laugh with varying degrees of sincerity, and started filing out.

Natasha leaned in. “The janitor doesn’t get to this part of the building until almost three am.”

“How the hell do you know these things, Natasha?” Even after being best friends for years, Loki sometimes wondered if he was underestimating just how terrifying Natasha really was.

She gave him a self-satisfied grin as she grabbed her books. “Have fun on your date. See you tomorrow, at which point you will explain why I don’t already know everything about this.”

He started to nod in answer, then paused. “I’m not the only person affected by that, Natasha. I’ll ask.”

“Never thought I’d live to see the day when Loki Burison became someone’s bitch,” she prodded, trying to get a rise out of him.

He used her own self-satisfied smile on her. “As you say, my dear.”

“Oh my god, Loki, are you actually his bitch? We’re talking about this right now. Is he giving you aftercare?” Loki gave her a blank look, and it seemed to rile her. She started to stand, saying, “That son of a bitch, I’ll—”

“Natasha, wait.” Loki put a hand on her arm. “I think you have entirely the wrong idea. But we will discuss this ‘aftercare’ of yours tomorrow, yes?” He tried to convey curiosity more than concern, but concern was churning in his stomach suddenly. Aftercare? Had he been doing it wrong, and Anthony had just let him? Anthony would do that, he was sure of it.

She paused a moment, then nodded and grabbed her bag. “I swear to you, Loki. If he hurts you, I’ll end him.” Her voice was a little louder than Loki would have liked, and he flinched at the way it echoed in the nearly empty classroom.

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue, Miss Romanova, but I do understand the sentiment, and I’ll take it under advisement.” Anthony’s voice rang through the room just as loudly, and Loki realized that but for the three of them, the room was completely empty.

Shit. Loki tried to summon up some shiny words that would make it okay that he’d been discussing things with Natasha. “Professor—”

“Please, Loki, allow me?” The professor was suddenly _his professor_ , and waiting for permission. Oh gods. All the blood in his body rushed to his groin, and the heat was overwhelming.

“As you wish, _Professor,_ ” Loki told him, nodding.

Anthony smiled tentatively at Natasha. His voice had completed the transition between smartass Physics professor and Loki’s _professor_ , but he seemed to have none of the trouble looking Natasha in the eye that he did with Loki. “I would never hurt Loki in any way, unless he wanted me to. I’m well familiar with the concept of aftercare, and if he ever needs it for any reason, I’d be happy to give it. We can discuss my knowledge on the subject at a later date, if you’d like.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, and looked to Loki with an entirely different expression on her face. “You know, I don’t think anyone needs to tell me anything, suddenly.” She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “And we will be discussing aftercare. Stuff you need to know if you’re going to be keeping a pet professor.”

She took her bag and made her way to the front of the classroom. She stopped to smile at the professor. “I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion, Professor Stark. I’m sure you’re taking good care of Loki.” The professor flushed under even that tiny praise, and Loki’s heart threatened to beat its way out of his chest. Natasha would help him. Why had he not run immediately to her and asked her how to be a Dom?

“I do my best, Miss Romanova. If there’s anything he needs, he knows he just needs to let me know.” He bit his lip, and the worried look crossed his face briefly before he looked up at Loki and seemed to come back to the present.

Someday, Loki thought, he was going to contract Natasha to commit a homicide for him. He just had to find out who the target was.

Natasha seemed to have noted the look as well, and gave Loki a concerned look of her own. He nodded, acknowledging that he was aware of the problem. She smiled, and as she walked out the door, said, “I told you this would be your thing ages ago. Apparently you just needed a teacher. Now, to see if my birdie is waiting where I told him to be.” She shut the door behind her, leaving Loki and his professor alone.

Anthony looked up at Loki questioningly, and Loki shrugged. “I think she and her frat-boyfriend dabble. She used to wax poetic about how relaxing a good spanking was. I rather thought she was joking.”

Anthony gave a little smile, and let his eyes slide to the floor. He licked his lips, opened his mouth and then closed it again, and looked conflicted.

“You have something to say, _Professor_?” Loki walked to the front of the classroom, setting his book and papers on the front table. “Please do.”

His voice came out a bare whisper. “I have something for you, Sir.”

“Do you, _Professor_?” Loki lowered his voice. “And what might that be?”

“It’s um… a surprise.” He bit his lip and his expression flitted between cheeky self-satisfaction, and the usual worry.

Loki thought for a moment. How to address the worry without actually bringing it up? If he pointed it out, the professor would think he was displeased. That was the last thing he wanted. So he grinned widely, and leaned into Anthony’s personal space. “Do tell, _Professor Mine_. I love it when you surprise me.”

Anthony smiled back, the confidence in his eyes building. “It would work better if I showed you, Sir.” His hands dropped to the buttons on his blazer.

“Then by all means, _Professor_ , show me.” The blood pooling in Loki’s groin seemed to catch fire. He took a few steps back and leaned against the table behind him, then motioned for the professor to continue. 

The professor’s eyes flickered closed as he slowly slid out of his blazer, and draped it over the desk next to him. He followed it with the tie, and then oh-so-slowly, he started to unbutton his shirt. When he reached the edge of his trousers, he undid the belt, unzipped them, and finished the buttons on his shirt.

He let himself fall back against the edge of the desk as he finished the buttons. When his ass hit it, he sucked hip lip between his teeth and moaned. Then, taking a deep breath, he reached for the buttons on his cuffs.

When he was done, he slowly let the shirt slip off his back, whimpering as though it was particularly sensitive.

By the time Anthony was shirtless, Loki was ready to blow. His self-control was holding on by a fraying thread, and all he wanted to do was let it snap. Which would involve bending his professor over the desk and fucking him to exhaustion. Not that it was going to last that long, after the three hours of foreplay that class had been, and then the torturous striptease.

The professor looked at Loki through hazy, lust-filled eyes, and took a shaky breath. Then he slowly turned around and showed Loki his back. He showed him the two neat rows of gleaming golden piercings running from just below his neck all the way down to his lower back, laced with a dark green ribbon.

“I got it for you, Sir. I… I thought you’d like it.” The professor’s voice was hopeful and nervous, and his head half turned to try to see Loki’s response.

Loki took his prior low expectations back. Three hours of class, a striptease, and then _this_ … He was lucky he hadn’t come in his pants like a little kid. It took some effort to push himself forward, but in the end, the need to touch won over the astonishment that the professor had done this for _him_.

He ran his fingertips just outside the line of slightly reddened skin around the piercings, trailing softly from top to bottom, and then back up. He was bitten by the urge to kiss every single one. He moved in so that his chest was just an inch away from Anthony’s back, and the beautiful lines of crisscrossed green ribbon, and leaned forward to run his tongue just barely along the back of Anthony’s ear.

Then, he whispered into his professor’s ear, his words almost all air and no voice. “For me, My Anthony?”

“Y-yes, Sir. For y-you.” Anthony’s voice was still shaky, but Loki suspected that the reason for the shake had changed a little.

“You look positively edible like this, _my professor_. It makes me want to lie you down and kiss every inch of your back.” Loki continued to whisper, breathing heavily into his professor’s ear. He allowed his chest to brush lightly against the professor’s back, a movement that elicited a pained but euphoric moan. Then he let his hands dip lower, into Anthony’s pants, to find where he was indeed wearing the plug, as ordered. “Tell me, Professor, how did it feel? Coming to class with your back corseted in my colors, and this,” he gave the plug a gentle pull, “stretching you in preparation for my cock?”

Anthony moaned aloud at the overstimulation, and it took him a moment to find words. When he did speak, it came out in a harsh whisper. “Perfect, Loki. It felt perfect.”

Perfect. Yes, that was a good word for what was happening. Absolutely perfect.

“Are you ready for me, _my sweet professor_? Do you want me to take you here and now?” To punctuate his words, Loki started toying with the plug, pulling it out, and then easing it gently back in.

“Oh fuck, yes, Loki.” Anthony’s head fell back against Loki’s shoulder, and he looked up at him. “Please take me right here, bent over my desk.” His gorgeous expressive eyes pleaded with Loki’s id, and Loki was not in the mood to turn either of them down.

He pulled the professor’s trousers and underwear the rest of the way down in one swift motion, then went back to toying with the plug with one hand, and undoing his own zipper with the other. Zipper taken care of, he remembered a condom, which he’d specifically put in his pocket on the presumption that something was going to happen after class. Thank goodness he’d thought ahead. He sincerely doubted he’d have had the patience to wait long enough to drive to the professor’s house, particularly with that gorgeous squirming ass right in front of him.

Loki pulled his underwear down far enough to slip on the condom, and dropped the wrapper on the desk. “Over the desk, _Professor_. I want you to grab the opposite side with both hands, and not let go for anything. Understood?” 

“Yes, Loki.” The professor carefully leaned over and took hold of the desk with both hands. Loki checked to make sure that the ribbon on his back wasn’t pulling, and then took a long look at the stunning picture before him. His beautiful Anthony, trousers around his ankles, bent lewdly over his own desk, the crisscrossed lines of green down his back marking him as _Loki’s professor_ , and a plug still in his lovely ass. Not even in Loki’s wildest dreams had he imagined that such a thing would happen to him.

Dear penthouse his ass. This was just for Loki. He only wished that the professor would let him take a picture, for his own personal consumption. It was one of Anthony’s very few limits, though, and Loki would not pressure him to change that.

Instead, he reached down and pulled the plug out, dumping it on the condom wrapper. He used two fingers to test how well prepared his professor was, only to get Anthony’s quiet version of a protestation, with a healthy side of ‘just fucking do it already’, when he jerked back into the invading fingers and moaned. “Please, Loki, fuck me. Now, Sir?”

Loki chuckled. “How could I say no to such a pretty plea?”

He pressed his cock softly against Anthony’s ass, wrapped his hands around those perfect hips, braced his legs and pushed forward. This time, they moaned in unison. Loki wanted to offer to go hard and fast, something he knew Anthony would love, but he didn’t want to take a chance on hurting him, with all of those tiny holes in his back, and a ribbon to pull at them. Stunning as the effect was, Loki was glad it wasn’t permanent. He didn’t want to have to worry about hurting Anthony at every turn forever. In the short term, Loki satisfied himself with long, slow strokes that seemed to be driving Anthony mad. He had started whimpering and thrusting back, trying to force Loki to go faster.

Loki thought about it for only a second before taking his right hand from Anthony’s hip, and giving his ass a hard smack that echoed through the empty classroom. “Stay still, Professor. I’ll have you as fast or slow as I want to have you. And you’ll like it, won’t you?”

“Y-yes, Loki. Oh Gods, Loki, please. Can y— could you — please?” That gorgeous baritone was positively wrecked, and his professor’s brain wasn’t far behind, if the way he struggled to put together a coherent sentence was anything to go by.

“Faster, _Professor Mine_? Harder? Or do you just want me to spank you again?” Loki tried to make his voice calm, but he was reasonably sure that was a losing battle.

The professor’s whimpers coalesced into one keening moan, one that he barely managed to break from long enough to beg, “Yes, please! All of it. Yes!”

Loki was riding a fine line, and he knew that if he wasn’t careful, he was going to come before his professor. That was not acceptable. If he was going to be in control here, he was going to make sure that everyone got what they had come for.

Burying himself in his professor, he brought his hand down again at the same time in a heavy smack. Then he reached up with his left hand and pulled the professor’s head up by the hair.

“Do you have any idea how you look like this, Anthony? Bent over your own desk taking a cock like every student’s wet dream? Begging for more?” Loki shoved in a little more forcefully, as though to drive the point home. “Do you have any idea how perfect, and sexy, and beautiful you are?”

Anthony made a noise of protest, but Loki cut him off with another smack to his ass.

“Don’t you dare question me, _Professor._ What does it mean, if I say you’re sexy?” Loki punctuated this with another smack.

Anthony tried to speak, but was struggling to get a full breath.

“What does it mean?” Loki actually sped his pace, determined that he would get an answer or an orgasm out of his professor.

“Y-you… you think…” The professor stuttered, and Loki gave him a particularly hard smack.

“Try again, Professor.” Leaning across all that green and gold, Loki used his grip on Anthony’s hair to pull his head to one side, and nipped his earlobe. “Tell me what I need to hear, my Anthony. Say it.”

Anthony whined loudly. “Sir? I’m… I’m going to…” His eyes met Loki’s as well as they could at the awkward angle, and he paused for just a moment. “I’m… sexy?”

Loki moaned at that, and yanked harder on the professor’s hair. “The sexiest fucking creature ever born, _Professor Mine_. So fucking beautiful, and completely mine.” He let his right hand fly in one more hard smack, knowing that if this wasn’t enough, he simply wasn’t up to the task.

In the midst of his own orgasm, though, he felt Anthony arch up against him and heard his cry of release. He let himself rest against Anthony for a moment before remembering the piercings, and worrying that the pressure of his body was causing pain.

Anthony murmured in protest when Loki pulled out and away, which made him chuckle a bit. “Now Anthony, no sleeping in the classroom. If you’re not here to learn, you might as well go home.” He pulled the condom off and tied it closed, then righted his clothes.

The joke made Anthony chuckle as well, and slowly pull himself up off the desk. Then he sighed. “I seem to have made a mess of things, Sir.” He sounded exhausted rather than aroused.

Loki wrapped his arms loosely around his lover and looked down at the desk and his belly, where they had indeed made a mess. Whipping his handkerchief out of his pocket, he leaned in and whispered. “Just this once, I think we’ll make quick work of it. I won’t tell if you don’t.” And with no more ceremony or concern, he cleaned up first Anthony, and then the smeared desk. He looked up to find that he was being stared at. “What? Don’t tell me that even this tired, you’re attached to doing it all yourself?”

The professor shook his head mutely. “I just… no one’s ever… for me, before. That’s all. I messed up your handkerchief.”

Loki had been practicing this specific look, so he thought he did okay. It was the look that said ‘ _I’m not horrified by the thing you just said._ ’ He had suspected that it was going to prove important, and fuck if he hadn’t already been proven right repeatedly. “Alright, first of all, _I_ messed up my handkerchief. Secondly… no. I’m sorry, I can’t pretend this is okay.” The look on Anthony’s face immediately turned to horror, but Loki grabbed him and kissed him to stave off all doubt. When he pulled back, he continued, “If you’re going to date me, Anthony Stark, you’re going to have to learn to live with the fact that my mother raised a gentleman. I will be doing things _for_ you, not just _to_ you.”

Anthony swallowed, but a smile was forming on his lips despite his previous concern. “I think I might be able to live with that.”

Loki helped Anthony back into his clothes, once more fingering the line of his back before they covered it up. “It won’t last long, right?”

Anthony shook his head. “I should probably take them out soon. It’s a really short term thing.”

“And your back?” He tried not to sound like a mother hen, but suspected that he failed miserably, especially when Anthony laughed.

He turned back to Loki, eyes sparkling as he wrapped his tie around his neck. “It’ll be okay. They’re tiny holes.”

“Tiny open wounds all down your back. For me.” Loki leaned in and captured his lips in a long kiss. “You have to let me come over and care for them, at least.”

“Is Doctor Loki going to kiss my owies all better?” Anthony leaned into him, his head on Loki’s chest in a display of comfort level that made Loki feel like a fucking hero.

He ran one hand through Anthony’s hair and let the other settle on his ass. “Doctor Loki is going to take any chance possible to kiss every single part of you, _Professor_. He’s found that he quite likes it.”

They stood there like that for a few minutes, Anthony just allowing Loki to hold him. It felt like everything Loki’s previous relationships had been lacking, but he couldn’t quite put a name to. It was warm, and comfortable, and happy. He didn’t want to move.

Inevitably, though, one of them had to pull back. Loki leaned down and kissed Anthony on the cheek. “If we don’t move, we’re going to fall asleep on our feet standing here.”

Anthony smiled and yawned. “S’okay by me.”

Rolling his eyes, Loki grabbed Anthony’s jacket and helped him into it. “I don’t have any late classes tomorrow. I can come over and help you take them out.”

“Does this offer include the aforementioned kissing?” Anthony flirted.

Loki leaned down and brushed his lips softly across Anthony’s. “I think you can safely assume that any offer I make you will probably involve kissing in some way.” He turned and grabbed the papers he’d brought for Anthony, handing them over. “Homework, and something else for you to read. You’ll let me know if I’m doing it wrong, won’t you?”

Anthony glanced at the top page and nodded. “Seems unlikely to come up, but I will if I need to. I, um, I get home at four tomorrow. I can make dinner if you want me to, Loki.”

“My turn,” Loki countered. “You’ve cooked for me. Tomorrow is about you, Anthony. I’ll bring dinner.”

That brought out a blush. “It’s not really about turns, Sir.”

“I know that.” He brushed his fingertips softly down Anthony’s cheek. “And I need you to know that I’m not just here because you do what I tell you to. It’s sexy as hell, but it isn’t your only defining feature to me.”

“Thank you.” Anthony responded quietly, and leaned up to steal another kiss before they parted ways for the night.

It wasn’t until later, when he was halfway home, that the full gravity of it hit Loki. No ‘Sir’ or ‘Loki’, just ‘thank you.’ It wasn’t about Domination or submission. It was just Anthony being grateful. Loki had never before found two words so meaningful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been forever! Promise, though, I'm not abandoning this story, just been busy doing other things.


	6. A Little TLC

“So,” Natasha said casually, taking a bite of her chicken sandwich, “were you ever going to tell me that your plan had succeeded, or just let me wonder?”

Loki put his salad down at the spot across from her and took the other seat at the tiny table she’d chosen. “I’m not sure, honestly. For some reason, it just felt wrong to go telling people about it. Then Mother wrung it out of me, and I bloody well confessed to Thor—”

“Wait, your brother knew before me?”

Loki telling Thor, but keeping Natasha in the dark? This was much more offensive than just Loki keeping secrets from Natasha.

He sighed. “It wasn’t the plan. He walked in on Mother giving me the third degree.”

“And she was doing that why?” She dipped a French fry daintily into the ketchup and then paused before eating it, waiting for his answer.

“I got home at four AM.” He slathered the ridiculous side container of dressing all over his salad. Why did they even do that? Did he look like he was on a diet? “I’m sure you can guess why that happened. Mother certainly did. And you know what a hard time I have lying to her…” He waited for Natasha’s nod before continuing, “It was even worse than usual. It was like every stupid thing I could have said came pouring out of my mouth. I told her… almost… everything.”

Natasha laughed. “What, you didn’t tell your Mom that your new boyfriend is the sweetest little sub ever?”

Loki scowled at her. “Don’t talk about him like that.”

“Riiight, he’s _your_ sweet little sub.” After another bite of her sandwich, she shook her head. “Gotta say, that came out of left field for me. Never would have imagined that snarky bastard as anything but a top.”

He continued the frown until she sighed at him.

“Okay, fine, no cracks about him being a sub. But you have to stop hating on Clint all the time.” She pointed an accusing finger across the table at him. “He’s a good guy, and I actually like him.”

Throwing his hands up, Loki conceded defeat. “I will stop mocking your fra… your boyfriend.”

She threw him a wicked grin. “We could go on a double date!”

“And have your…” Loki paused and rephrased when she raised an eyebrow. “I doubt that _Clint_ would enjoy that, given Anthony failing him last year.”

“Good lesson in humility,” she shrugged. “Besides, you were right, Clint failed because he was slacking. Knowing he’s going to have to spend the rest of his life hanging out with the Prof ought to be an eye opener for him.”

“Or he’ll run away screaming,” Loki countered.

Her laughter reverberated through the room. “I’ve been training him for more than a year, Loki. Wait till you have your boy so well trained. He’ll smile and take it like a champ. And he’ll know that being a good boy gets him what he wants.” Loki’s discomfort must have shown on his face, because she stopped and frowned. “Loki? What’s wrong?”

It took him a moment to gather the right words. “He already does that, Natasha. Smiles and accepts it." He looked down at his salad. "I don’t like it. I don’t know if I’m getting it right or not, I just know that he won’t tell me I’m doing anything wrong.”

“That look last night.” Her eyes were far away, reliving the moment.

Loki nodded. “That look. All the time, Natasha. Whenever he seems to think I might be displeased.”

She set her sandwich down and pushed it away. “Do you have a safeword? Did you have him make a list?”

Nodding madly, Loki felt his spirits lift. She did know. Maybe she could help him fix it! “Yes, he already had one. He said he never uses it, though. I… I don’t know how I can make him understand that I want him to, if he needs to.”

“Maybe you should make him change it.” She studied the lines on the table, deep in thought. “If his old word has negative connotations in any way, it could be a real problem. And that’s on top of anything else.”

Loki nodded, wishing he could take actual notes instead of just mental ones.

“And to make him use it…” she frowned. “That’s hard. Forcing someone into a situation where they have to safeword out is really tricky, and it can go really bad. I’ll think about it. List?”

He nodded again. “I had him do one last week. I gave him mine last night.”

Her face went from serious to laughter in one second flat. “Was that what all that paperwork was?”

“Not _all_ of it,” he said, blushing. “Just most of it. Some was homework.”

When she finally choked back the laughter, she motioned him to continue. “Okay, tell me about the list. Not specifics or anything, just… how assertive about his needs was it?”

His relief was so keen it must have been evident on his face. “Not at all. He only marked I think… two hard limits. But then I asked him about… something specific that had come up before, and he admitted that he didn’t enjoy it. But he hadn’t marked it that way.”

She nodded. “I’ve heard of it before. A sub who’s too eager to please offers to do things they don’t really want to, to try to make their Dom happy.”

“How can I fix it, Natasha? I don’t want to tell him he has to change.” He pushed his own lunch away, almost untouched. “I don’t want him to change. I just want him to see himself the way I see him.”

The cheap metal cafeteria chair let out a loud squeak as Natasha leaned back into it. “Mostly, time is what you need. If you stick around and keep telling him there’s something worthwhile in him, eventually he has to start believing it. It’s gonna be a long painful process, though. You need to decide now whether he’s worth the effort.”

“He is.” Loki responded immediately and without need for consideration.

“Damn, Loki." She regarded him with a bemused little smirk. "I didn’t even expect you to succeed at sleeping with him. I sure as hell didn’t think it’d be a long term thing if you did.” She grabbed their plates and stacked them together, then leaned toward him. “Okay, you still have the list?” She waited for him to nod before going on. “Good. First, find that one thing he didn’t actually like, and change it, and everything with a similar mark, to a soft limit.”

Screw it, he thought to himself. He pulled out his phone and started typing himself a note. Nodding, he prodded her, “Go on.”

She made no comment on Loki's earnest diligence, which Loki was thankful for. “Probably only the absolute top rated things are what he actually likes, so early on, stick to those. Start edging into other things later if you want.” She drummed her fingers manically against the table, thinking.

“I think those things are plenty for me.” Loki said absently, typing away on his phone. He looked up to find her grinning at him.

“Marked a lot of things highly, did he?” she asked, terribly amused.

And damn it all, Loki blushed.

“Hey, wait. Anything active on the list of things he actually likes?” Her expression looked promising, eyes darting back and forth, like there was an idea brewing that was going to change the world.

“Active? Like, things that he has to do, instead of have done to him?” Loki asked, trying to remember the list in his head.

She nodded.

“Yes, a few I think.”

She nodded, and gave a self-satisfied smile. “So first, have him come up with a new safeword. Nothing resembling the old one, and it has to be something he’s willing to say. Then, to ‘test it out’, have him do his thing. The active thing that he likes. And tell him that when he’d done, he HAS to safeword out, to tell you that he’s done.”

Loki sat back in his chair, utterly in awe of his friend’s skills. He was firmly convinced that Natasha could convince anyone of anything, if she really wanted to. “Have I told you this week that I love you and you frighten me?”

She grinned widely. “Always mutual, my friend.”

 

*

 

The plan, Loki decided, would have to wait until his professor was better.

Loki was going over to pamper Anthony; to bring him dinner, and care for his wounds, and possibly a few slightly less appropriate things. It was not time to press any agenda, or stress Anthony unduly. He suspected that the removal of a bunch of piercings had done plenty of that. Loki had thought that through, after all. He had done a little research on how complicated it was, and assumed that Anthony was going to have the person who had put them in take them out as well. Anthony had done this before, Loki suspected, and knew what to do.

In case he was wrong, he went prepared to remove them himself, complete with a kit that included anesthetic spray and vast amounts of gauze.

After watching a YouTube video of the removal of some woman’s piercings, Loki decided that it was a very good thing that he’d decided to involve himself, since he firmly believed that Anthony wouldn’t have asked for any care. He hated to think they would get infected and leave scars on his professor’s lovely skin.

He pulled into the drive at a quarter to five, with two bags sitting next to him in the passenger seat. One full of first aid paraphernalia and the other dinner from his favorite Italian restaurant. Anything with pasta seemed like appropriate comfort food to him, and he’d made a point of buying tiramisu for his professor. He had an image lodged in his head of the professor lying on his stomach eating the confection and moaning out his pleasure while Loki lovingly tended to his back. An incredibly odd thing to find sexy, maybe, but it was in his head for good now.

For the short term, he decided to be optimistic and left his improvised first aid kit in the car.

Acting with more confidence than he felt, Loki marched up to the front door and used his key (his key!) to unlock it. The first sight that greeted him was Anthony, naked and kneeling across from the door. His libido stood to attention, suggesting that pasta and tiramisu — and, in fact, everything but fucking Anthony — could wait a while.

He closed the door behind himself, and tucked his keys back into his pocket.

Then Loki noted that Anthony was kneeling on the cushion that Loki had told him to bring into the kitchen on Friday. It was a simple black thing, but Loki had only seen the one, so he was rather sure it was the same one.

“Do you like having your own cushion to kneel on, Anthony?” He asked in his conversational tone, trying to make sure the professor didn’t jump to the conclusion that Loki disapproved.

It didn’t work, of course. “I… I’m sorry, Sir, I assumed—”

“You assumed that I wanted you to kneel on something soft, instead of the cold hard floor?” Loki set the bag of food down on a side table and walked over to his professor. “Because if you did, then you presumed correctly.” He squatted down in front of Anthony. “I like you on your knees, my Professor, but don’t for a second think that means I like you to be uncomfortable. I only want you in pain to a degree that you enjoy. Once it crosses past that, there’s no reason for it.”

Anthony looked up at him, confusion painted across his features.

Loki couldn’t help himself. He dropped to his own knees and grabbed Anthony’s face in both hands. “I don’t get off on causing you to suffer needlessly, Anthony. The only sexy thing about your pain is when you’re so obviously enjoying it.”

Praying to gods he didn’t believe in that he hadn’t gone too far, Loki leaned in for a kiss which was, to his comfort, enthusiastically returned. It was a surprisingly artless thing for two grown men, all tongues and teeth, but something about it was so honest and real that it was as sexy as any well-executed kiss he’d ever been a part of. After a minute, they both pulled back panting.

Loki took a minute to catch his breath before moving on. “Well, then. I’m glad that’s out of the way. Hopefully now you won’t be offended when I start sending mountains of pillows to you, so that you can kneel anywhere in the house.”

Anthony’s eyes widened a bit. “Sir? Do you want me to…?”

“No, Anthony. I think we’ve agreed that there are many things I’m comfortable with you paying for. This is my vision, though. I’ll be the one funding it.” Loki ran a loving hand along the slightly stubbly cheek.

Anthony was obviously confused, but nodded. “If you’re sure about it, Sir.” He obviously wanted to say more, but didn’t want to annoy Loki. For once, Loki accepted that and moved on.

“Good. Now, dinner. Shall we go to the kitchen?” Loki picked up the bag and motioned for Anthony to go ahead.

Anthony nodded again and turned to crawl down the hallway. As he turned, Loki was grateful to see two rows of reddened holes down the sides of his back where the piercings had already been removed. At least Anthony had that much sense of self-preservation.

He leaned against the entryway arch to watch Anthony’s retreating ass for a long moment. He’d been looking forward to that view all day. The contrast of Anthony’s tanned skin to the pale cream colored carpet. The way his ass swayed slightly with each movement of his hips. The marks he left on the carpet, something obviously having been pulled across it instead of just footprints. Every detail was indelibly etched into Loki’s mind, and sometimes his brain replayed it at random. Like that morning in his calculus class, when Mr. Blake had been on about some useless theoretical concept. What the hell good was theoretical _math_?

After just a moment’s hesitation, he followed. Dinner really did smell delicious.

When they arrived, Anthony looked up at him. “May I set you a place, Loki?”

“Please, Professor Mine,” he answered happily. When Anthony had set to his task, he decided to press a little on a subject that had been slightly concerning him. “Did you read the list I gave you?”

Even from his position halfway across the room, Loki saw Anthony shiver. Shudder? Oh please, let it not be that. He didn’t think he’d marked anything particularly risqué.

Anthony immediately killed his concern, though. His voice had deepened into a gravelly tone that made _Loki_ want to shiver. “Yes, Loki.” When he turned back with a plate, his cheeks were flushed and his breath quick. “Every word, Sir.”

Loki had to know, so he pushed. “And do you have any questions?”

Anthony shook his head.

“Anything to say about it?” he insisted.

Anthony bit his lip for a fraction of a second, and then gave one of those wicked little smiles of his. “Yes, Loki.”

Fuck, Loki loved that smile. Anyone who had ever discouraged him from displaying it more often deserved to be beaten, and not at all in a sexy way. Loki fought his own smile down. “And what is it you have to say, Anthony?” He made his way over to their usual spot at the counter, watching Anthony carefully as he did so.

He should probably give his professor a spanking for this foot-dragging. It was so damned cute, though, that he was going to struggle to even _try_ to discipline him. On the other hand, the spanking on Friday had been… intense. Loki could only imagine what Anthony’s flogger was going to be like. He tried not to picture it. They were right in the middle of a conversation, dammit!

Meanwhile, Anthony had coyly put together a place setting, pulled out a bottle of wine, and poured Loki a glass — all without answering. He looked up at Loki then, a sultry smile playing on his lips. “I think the only thing I can say, Loki, would be… yes, please?”

Loki attacked him with his mouth again, pressing his lips hard against Anthony’s. After a moment, he wrenched himself away, pulling Anthony lightly by the hair. “Go get your cushion, Professor. Then we eat.”

The professor disappeared down the hall to do Loki’s bidding, and Loki set to plating the pasta, the salad, and the anticipated tiramisu. He only hoped that Anthony liked it all.

Happily, when Anthony walked back in, he stopped for a moment and sniffed the air. “That smells amazing, Loki. Mario’s?”

“The one and only,” Loki answered. He watched Anthony walk slowly over, set his cushion on the floor, and slip down to his knees. He was reasonably sure that image was all the sexual stimulation he was ever going to need again. Anthony, smoothly sliding down to kneel in front of him. His lips slightly parted, his eyes wide, his pupils dilated, the way he licked his lower lip into his mouth to wet it… It was like a fantasy designed just for Loki.

Loki shivered again. “I do hope you like their lasagna.”

Anthony leaned his face upward, staring Loki in the eye. “I love it, Loki. But what I’d really like is to cover you with the mascarpone from their tiramisu, and then lick it off you.”

Loki grinned. “Funny, I was just thinking something similar.” Anthony pouted adorably for a second, so Loki continued. “But I didn’t buy it for me. I bought it for you, considering the ordeal you’ve been through on my account.”

Anthony gave a smug, secretive little smile, and leaned his face against Loki’s thigh. “It wasn’t really such an ordeal, Loki.”

Loki smiled and ruffled Anthony’s hair. “I know. But you’re going to allow me to coddle you a bit, because you’re a good boy.”

Like a satisfied cat marking a human as his, Anthony rubbed his cheek against Loki’s thigh, his stubble burning pleasantly. “Anything you want, Loki.”

He seemed so much more at ease than he had just days earlier. Loki cut off a piece of lasagna, and held it down for Anthony to eat. Anthony took the bite, and held Loki’s eyes as he chewed. Loki had to fight to keep from cheering aloud and scaring him, but he was that happy about Anthony feeling more and more comfortable looking him in the eye.

They ate in relative silence, Loki once again gauging what Anthony liked and didn’t with each bite. The lasagna was a no-brainer, but also, there was no to tomatoes, yes to carrots, and yes to anything covered in Italian dressing. Loki had always wondered in class why Anthony’s face was so expressive. Obviously, he was used to trying to communicate his thoughts without being given permission to speak.

It was sometime during this companionable episode that Loki realized one of the reasons Anthony was so much more comfortable so suddenly. The list. He had finally finished it and given it to Anthony, and Anthony had expressed pleasure at the contents.

Loki really almost laughed at that. He could have told Anthony much earlier that comparatively, his tastes ran to the decidedly tame end of the scale. Comparatively, in that Loki didn’t think that spanking was tame, but he was rather sure that Anthony did. Loki had actually been concerned that his list would disappoint Anthony with its relative lack of hard kinks.

The fact was that Anthony had wanted someone who accepted him for what he was, though. Not necessarily someone who had all the same kinks. It seemed that Anthony was truly pleased with Loki’s list.

“Loki?” Anthony’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. It was tinged with concern, and that drew him right out.

“Anthony?” He looked down into big brown eyes, and that damned lip bite that was going to start showing up in his nightmares. He reached down and pulled the lip out of Anthony’s teeth. “Is something wrong?”

“Could I have a drink, please?” He started to wedge the lip back between his teeth, but stopped and just looked hopefully up at Loki.

That was when Loki remembered that he hadn’t given Anthony any of the wine. He’d been too focused on the rest. _Stupid, Loki!_ He berated himself as his hand flew to the wineglass. “Of course, Anthony. If ever I forget such a thing, do ask. As soon as you want a drink. Yes?” He held the glass out and tipped it to Anthony’s waiting lips.

Anthony took the offered drink and then nodded. “Yes, Loki. I promise.”

“Good.” Loki ruffled his hair affectionately and smiled. “Have you had enough to eat, or do you want more?”

Anthony eyed the underside of the counter as though he could see through it, and pursed his lips. Then he turned questioning eyes on Loki, but he didn’t say anything.

That time, Loki did laugh, and loudly. “You’re just thinking about the tiramisu, aren’t you?”

Anthony blushed, but nodded as he leaned his head back over to lay against Loki’s thigh. “Can I have it, Sir? I mean, some of it?”

Reaching down to stroke the side of Anthony’s face, Loki nodded. “Of course you can.” Thinking back to the comment about eating off of Loki’s body, he thought it was safe to assume that Anthony didn’t take issue with food being consumed in the bedroom. “But first, I need you to gather your first aid supplies. I presume you have something to treat the wounds with, and perhaps some gauze?”

A bit confused, but no less obliging, Anthony nodded again. “Yes, Loki, I can do that. But Sir, you really don’t have to waste—”

“Excellent, _Professor_.” Loki cut him off, already having a clue where that unfortunate statement was going. Anthony appeared to be acceptably distracted, and he shivered at the use of the nickname. “Gather those things, and I shall meet you in the bedroom.”

“Yes, Loki.” Despite his obvious confusion, there was no mistaking the eagerness in his voice.

When Anthony disappeared down the hallway, Loki refilled the glass of wine, grabbed the dessert, and headed for the bedroom. When he arrived, he found the bed made up immaculately. He decided that the deep crimson duvet was the perfect backdrop for his professor. It was easy to imagine, Anthony lying on his belly there, bronzed skin against red, torso pulled up to rest in his elbows as he languidly took bites of his dessert and half turned to watch Loki work.

He sighed happily, and since the room was ready, decided that it was reasonable to make himself more comfortable. He took his suit jacket off and laid it across the back of a chair, and followed it up with his tie. Then he undid a few buttons at his collar and rolled up his sleeves. Socks and shoes were removed and left next to the chair as well.

That was when Anthony arrived, peeking around the corner on his hands and knees.

“Come in, Anthony,” Loki sat on the edge of the bed and patted it reassuringly.

Crawling in, Anthony slowly pulled himself up onto the bed and continued on all fours over to where Loki was sitting. Pulling his hands up, he opened them to show a box of gauze pads and a small container of antiseptic intended for piercings.

Loki took the items and set them on the bed, then reached up to caress Anthony’s cheek again. “Ready, _Professor_?”

The professor nodded, once again starting to pull his lip between his teeth in a show of nerves. Then his eyes met Loki’s, and he stopped. “Sorry, Sir. I know how you dislike—”

“I dislike your discomfort, Anthony. I never want you to feel as though you need to be worried about my reactions.” Loki reached out and rubbed his thumb along his professor’s bottom lip. “And I do hate to see you abuse this lovely lip of yours.”

Anthony blushed bright red at the compliment, but at least he did not attempt to dismiss it or correct Loki. Baby steps, Loki reminded himself. He still didn’t believe it, but at least he was accepting Loki’s right to say it.

Loki stood, not removing his hand from Anthony’s face. He leaned in to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Now, my sweet, I want you on your stomach, just there.” He pointed to the middle of the bed with his free hand, and when Anthony nodded in acknowledgement, he turned to take a drink of wine.

When he turned back, his professor was obediently lying on his stomach in the middle of the bed, face buried in the duvet. While it painted a lovely picture, and certainly did things for his cock, it wasn’t quite what he wanted. It would be taken care of soon enough, he decided. No reason to say anything.

Taking the plated tiramisu, he set it down on the duvet between Anthony’s head and the pillows. Then he ran a gentle hand down his side, giving his ass a light smack when he reached it. “Dessert is served, _Professor Mine_.”

Anthony’s head popped up and he stared at the plate for a moment. “Sir?” He asked nervously.

“Yes?” Loki said with a wicked grin.

“I… _just_ for me?” Well that was not at all the question Loki had been expecting. He supposed he should have, but he’d thought that the lack of a fork would take precedence. Silly, really.

He climbed back onto the bed next to Anthony, and ran a firm hand through his hair. “Just for you, Professor. Now you just focus on that while I do this, hmm?”

Anthony gave him an adorably childlike grin and nodded. “Thank you, Loki.” Then he dug in with his fingers, no questions asked about utensils.

For a moment, Loki couldn’t look away from the sight of Tony dipping his fingers into the cream, drawing a line in the cocoa powder; couldn't look away from the plump pink lips closing around the off-white dollop.

Blinking, he shook himself out of his reverie and focused on the work ahead. The person who had taken the rings out had obviously done a good job; while they were bruising a bit, they didn’t look more irritated than one would expect, and the holes were all tiny and very neat. Loki briefly wondered if someone at Art’s shop had done it. That would certainly make sense.

Still, though, never could be too careful.

He had considered straddling Anthony’s backside. Instead, he decided that he wanted to be off to one side, so that he could watch the childish glee his professor was displaying, eating dessert with his hands.

He wet a piece of gauze with the antiseptic, and one at a time, checked and cleaned each wound. Anthony arched his back up into Loki’s hands now and then, making Loki wonder whether he was seeking pain, or just more physical contact. Maybe both, he supposed.

After a while, Anthony looked over at him coyly. “Do you want some, Sir?” He waggled his coffee and cream covered fingers in Loki’s direction.

“How kind of you to offer, _Professor_.” Loki leaned in and took one finger into his mouth, much to Anthony’s apparent surprise, and then pleasure. Well. That heated, ‘come fuck me’ expression had to continue. So one by one, Loki licked Anthony’s fingers clean.

By the time he was finished, Anthony was panting, mouth hanging open and he stared at Loki. “Do you… Do you want some more, Loki? O-or something else?”

“Hmmm, something else, you say?” Loki leaned in and licked the professor’s bottom lip. “Oh, yes. Something else.” Anthony leaned in to him as he pulled away, so he smiled and put a finger to his lip, holding him back. “Let me finish this first. For now, why don’t you tell me what you’d like me to do when I’m done?”

Anthony grinned as Loki pulled away, and from the corner of his eye, Loki saw his legs slide apart. “I’ll do whatever Loki wants, of course.”

“Is that right?” He reached out and smacked Anthony’s bottom. “No opinion at all?” Picking up the antiseptic and a fresh gauze pad, he moved to the other side of the bed and continued working.

Anthony proceeded to stick his fingers back into his dessert and continue eating. “Well, Sir might be annoyed with me for making a mess of what he just cleaned up….”

Loki laughed. “And he might think that you’re enjoying this far too much.” Hmmm… maybe not the right thing to say. He glanced to Anthony’s face to check for a negative reaction.

There was still an enormous grin on his face, though. “If Sir doesn’t want me to enjoy myself, he should stop spoiling me.”

Dropping the gauze pad on Anthony’s back, Loki took his face in both hands and kissed him firmly on the lips. When he pulled away, he flashed Anthony his own grin. “Never. And I love it when you enjoy yourself. Now let me finish this, so I can give you the rest of what you want.”

With clinical efficiency that only a scientist could muster, Loki cleaned and checked each wound on the right side of his professor’s back in quick succession. He really wanted to get to the rest about five minutes ago, so that he could skip to the sex part.

By the time he was done, the professor was licking his own fingers, and not quite looking at Loki over his shoulder.

“Did you enjoy your dessert, Professor Mine?” Loki asked, leaning up to lick a bit of cream from the corner of the other man’s mouth.

The professor’s face was caught somewhere between grateful and nervous. “Yes, Sir.” He licked his lips, opened his mouth as though to say something, and then thought better of it and closed his mouth.

“Is there something you want?” Loki tried to keep his voice light and curious, in hope that it would more likely draw an answer.

Anthony just blushed. “You, Sir?”

Loki rolled his eyes and leaned in to nip on Anthony’s earlobe. “Really, _Professor_. Is that the most creative thing you can come up with? I expect more from you.”

“I only want to make you happy, Loki.” Anthony had half turned, and Loki saw him wince a bit at the twist of his back. “What can I do for you? You’ve already taken care of me.”

Loki chuckled. “My lovely, naked, coffee-and-cream-covered Professor. You want to know what you can do for me? What have you not done already?”

“I’m sure I can do more, Sir.” Anthony turned his whole body so that he was sitting on the bed next to Loki. He drew his hands up as if to touch Loki’s chest, then paused, as though waiting for permission.

Which, of course, he was.

Opting to just accept the wordless request for the moment, Loki nodded his assent. Anthony’s clever fingers immediately set to removing his shirt. When he finished, he tossed the shirt to the end of the bed, and ran his fingers over Loki’s chest. Loki wasn’t sure what the attraction was, as he was pale and thin all over. He’d tried to add muscle to balance it out, but he was never going to have a body like his brother’s.

Anthony, though, seemed pleased. After a moment of contenting himself with his fingers, he tentatively leaned in to place a soft close-mouthed kiss on one shoulder, then the other. The pectoral muscles were next. Then each nipple got a kiss and a light swipe of the tongue. As he moved lower, Anthony kept his eyes on Loki’s, obviously waiting to be ordered to stop.

When it became apparent that Loki wasn’t going to say anything, Anthony let out a shaky breath just above the button to his trousers. “May I, Sir?” He reached out and put a very hesitant hand to Loki’s belt buckle, tensing slightly at the feel of it beneath his fingers. He automatically bit his lip, and the look in his eyes was unsettling.

His belt. Loki briefly considered having it burned, given the look on Anthony’s face. “Do with it as you will, _Professor_.”

His professor slowly unbuckled it, slid it out of the belt loops, and then looked down at it as though it were a snake.

Unflinching, Loki reached down, took it from the professor’s hands, and tossed it in the corner.

After watching that, the professor looked over at Loki. “Is everything okay, Loki?”

If the professor wasn’t going to make an issue of it, neither was Loki. In fact, he decided to change the subject entirely. “Fine, _Professor_. But how long do you intend to take stripping me?” He motioned down to his trousers and made sure to turn the corner of his mouth up so that Anthony wouldn’t think him truly unhappy. “I certainly cannot give you what you want like this.”

The professor grinned and immediately commanded, “Stand up.” Then he looked surprised at his own boldness, and his eyes went wide, the grin slipping a bit. They went even wider when Loki complied. He blushed a little.

Loki smirked at him. “You’ve gotten what you wanted, _Professor_. Best not to squander it.”

Immediately, the professor slid from the edge of the bed down onto his knees. Looking up into Loki’s eyes the whole time, he unbuttoned and unzipped Loki’s trousers, fumbling only slightly. Then he tucked his fingers into the waistband of Loki’s underwear and pulled everything down at once.

As soon as Loki’s cock was clear of the cloth, the professor leaned forward to suck it into his mouth, but Loki caught him by the chin. “Condom, my dear _professor_.”

The professor sighed, but there was a smile playing on his lips. “Yes, Sir.” He crawled over to the bedside table to retrieve a condom and rolled it onto Loki, before wrapping his lips around the head and sucking.

Loki reached down and ran his right hand through Anthony’s hair. He let him let him continue for a moment before giving the silken hair a sharp tug.

Anthony moaned around him, but let go and pulled back. “I’m sorry, Sir. Am I doing something wrong?”

“Not at all, Anthony.” Loki went back to petting Anthony’s hair soothingly. “But I want you on the bed.”

Anthony’s eyes brightened at the prospect. “How, Loki?”

That brought a smirk to Loki’s face. His instinct was to let the other man choose, but he supposed that this was part of domination. Making choices like this without needing a five minute conversation that made everyone feel as though they’d contributed to the end result. Really, it was usually Loki’s ideal situation, in the lab. Everything went more smoothly when people did what he told them to.

He looked to the bed, and then down at Anthony. Pulling a little on his hair again, an action that always seemed to elicit a moan, he leaned the other man’s head back to look up at him. “On your back, my sweet _professor_.”

Anthony smiled at him and nodded. Never moving to stand on his feet, he simply climbed up onto and lay down in the middle of the bed. He was too low for his head to hit the pillows, so it was flush with the bed. It was perfect.

“Now reach for the headboard. You don’t have to touch it, but I don’t want to see you lower your arms for any reason short of needing to call a stop. Yes?” Loki was rather sure he wasn’t going to ask anything his professor would be uncomfortable giving. The reminder served two purposes, though. First, it pointed out that there was a safe word, telling the professor that Loki remembered and was willing to use it. Second, it served to point to the fact that the professor was submitting to his will. Loki refused to feel bad for being incredibly turned on by that.

The professor nodded sharply as he complied. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

Rote words, Loki thought. He didn’t want the professor’s practiced answers; he wanted more. “Do you wish I had something proper to tie you up with, _Professor Mine_?”

That brought a grin. “Yes, Loki. But our cuffs will be ready next Monday.”

Loki couldn’t help but answer with a grin of his own. “Indeed, _our_ cuffs _will_ be ready next Monday. And I will have you cuffed to this bed next Monday night.” The professor’s swiftly indrawn breath was his reward. “But for now, my dear _professor_ , you’ll keep your hands where I told you to, or I’ll stop. Does that seem reasonable to you?”

The professor’s trembling lower lip told Loki that the answer was both yes, and definitely not. He simply nodded after a moment, and Loki decided to let it pass for an answer. He grabbed the lube before joining his professor on the bed, and then made preparation into a horrible, excruciatingly slow sort of game. Every time his professor’s hands dipped from their position, he stopped right where he was, and waited for the professor to put them back.

The first time, which happened just after Loki had added a second finger into the stretching, it took Anthony a moment to realize what was wrong. Then his eyes widened, and he started to apologize. Loki just looked from his huge brown eyes up to the headboard, silently trying to tell him that all he needed to do was fix it. Anthony had looked genuinely surprised that when he put his hands back up, Loki simply continued on as if nothing had happened.

The next time, just a moment later, Loki thought it was a test. He wasn’t sure if the professor was trying to test his patience, his resolve, or his lack of violent intent, but he was determined to succeed in proving his point.

By the fifth time, he was about ready to get some violent intent. He’d barely gotten three fingers working into his professor, and he was long past ready to be fucking him outright. “ _Professor Mine_ ,” he sing-songed sweetly, “do I have to roll you on your belly and give you a spanking to remind you of where your hands belong? You do seem to be struggling so.”

Anthony whimpered and gave his head a decidedly half-hearted shake, while panting and pressing down into Loki’s fingers. “I’m sorry, Loki.”

“Funny, you don’t sound terribly sorry,” Loki joked. When Anthony started to pull his lip between his teeth, Loki reached up with his free hand and stuck his index finger between those beautiful lips. “Should I start shoving my cock in your mouth every time you bite that lip? It would be a _much_ more effective use of your mouth.”

Anthony moaned around his finger and sucked it further into his mouth. His hands started to slide down, and Loki moved to pull his fingers away altogether. Honey brown eyes flew open and locked on his, and his hands strained once again to reach for the headboard. When Loki resumed working the fingers on his right hand in and out, he hummed in pleasure.

Loki smiled and leaned up toward Anthony’s face. “You’ll be happier when you can’t move, won’t you?”

That drew a blush and a nod. When Loki withdrew the finger in his mouth, Anthony sighed. “I’m sorry, Sir. I’m not very good at this.”

“On the contrary, _Professor_. As in all things, you’re making this quite interesting.” Loki leaned in and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. “Perhaps we’ll have to practice this now and then after we have the cuffs, to see if you can learn to do what I tell you to, and not just what I force you to. I find force vastly overrated.”

His professor gave him a bemused smile at that, and pushed his hands harder over his head. “I’ll try my best, Loki.”

“Which is all I can ever ask of you.” Loki ruffled his hair with his free hand, and much to Anthony’s dismay, slowed his other hand. Anthony whimpered beneath him, trying to press his ass down to meet Loki’s fingers. Loki chuckled. “Are you ready for me?”

Hands strained for the headboard, and Anthony nodded madly. “Yes, Loki. Please?”

“Anything my professor requires of me.” Pulling himself up a bit to look Anthony in the eye, he slid the other man’s hips up toward his own. Then he slid his hands down Anthony’s legs, and pulled his heels off the bed and into the air, balancing him with his shoulder blades against the bed. “Do remember your hands, _Professor Mine_. It would be tragic if I had to stop in the middle of fucking you in order to discipline you.”

Anthony gave a little gasp and nodded. The look in his eyes didn’t indicate that he had any wish to avoid the discipline, though. Loki wondered if he would do it again just to get a spanking.

That done, he pushed his own hips forward, sliding his cock slowly into his professor’s tight ass. It was starting to be an addiction, this feeling of ownership. Loki tried not to wonder if he was somehow dehumanizing his professor, or otherwise acting inappropriately, by thinking of the other man so possessively. He’d certainly never felt that way about anyone he’d previously slept with. He’d also never had anyone kneel for him like the professor, though, so he cut himself some slack.

Looking down at the professor, Loki was struck with a strange sense of certainty. Not a sudden realization or anything so dramatic, just a literal feeling of certainty. This was where he was. He was Anthony’s Loki. Anthony was his professor. It felt more real than anything else in his universe.

Anthony’s face was flushed, his mouth open, drawing in panting breaths and releasing little whimpers of need and want. He was trying to push up into Loki with every stroke, but Loki had deliberately put him in a position where he had nothing to properly brace himself against. Unless he moved his arms as he’d been ordered not to do, he had to trust Loki to do it all for him.

After just a few seconds of this, the realization struck him, and his eyes flew to Loki. “You…”

“Yes?” Loki grinned and him, pushing in and forcing the professor’s hips down.

The professor’s arms moved a scant few inches as though he was going to ignore the imperative Loki had given him. Then his biceps tensed, and he pulled his arms firmly back into place. “Please, Loki? Hard?”

Loki pushed forward with force, making the professor moan. “Like that, Anthony?” He followed up with a few more sharp thrusts, the smacking sound their hips made on impact filling the room.

“Yes! Oh fuck, yes. Please!” His hips moved minutely into Loki as he continued to thrust, but he kept his arms tense and forced into their position above his head.

“When you’re so good for me, _Professor_ , how could I possibly say no?” Loki gave his backside a sharp punctuating smack, and then resumed thrusting.

At the rate he was moving, perhaps rutting was a better word. It turned positively feral, as Loki dropped his hands down to brace on either side of Anthony’s chest, and just thrust again and again. A high keening noise started coming from the back of Anthony’s throat, so Loki amped up the speed again.

Anthony’s eyes flew open. “Sir? Sir please?” He could barely keep the noise in his throat down for long enough to beg prettily.

“Please what, Anthony?” Loki asked with a wicked grin, not slowing his pace at all. “Slow down?”

“NO!” Anthony practically yelled, then recoiled a bit with a nervous expression.

Loki’s protective instinct reared up, but he knew with certainty that stopping to comfort him was not what Anthony wanted. Instead, Loki continued the same pace, but brought his face down next to Anthony’s where their breath intermingled. “If not slow down, my beautiful professor, then what?”

Anthony abortively brought his lip between his teeth before stopping and letting go. “Can I come, Sir?” His voice was practically a whisper, but Loki had known what he wanted before he asked, so it wasn’t hard to make out.

He brushed his lips against Anthony’s, not so much a kiss as a feather-light caress. “Come, Anthony. I want see your eyes when you come for me.”

So Anthony stared into his eyes, as though he couldn’t bring himself to look away. He’d obviously been holding back, since it took no time at all to comply, Loki’s name on his lips as he exploded in orgasm. Loki thrust hard just a few more times before it was too much, and he found himself shuddering in orgasm, calling Anthony’s name back at him. Anthony continued to hold his eyes, and he saw a tiny flare of satisfied triumph in those honey colored irises as he let himself go.

They lay there like that for a few quiet moments, staring into each other’s eyes, their lips not quite pressed together. It was the most fulfilled Loki ever remembered feeling.

A certain well known configuration of words popped into his head and almost fell out of his mouth to tangle everything up and ruin the moment. Loki stopped them in time, though, and, instead, he leaned in and kissed Anthony lightly on the tip of his nose.

He had to get his brain under control, or he was going to ruin everything completely by accident one of these days. Maybe Anthony would teach him how the hell he controlled his orgasms so well. That kind of fine control over one’s own body had to extend into other things.

He ignored the tiny voice in his head that was pointing out how ignoring things never made them go away, opting to kiss Tony's lips instead. Thinking could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know, I've been promising this for a while. Here it finally is!
> 
> Always, thanks to the lovely people who help me make this fic better, AgentRomvnoff and Plumadesatada. <3333


	7. The Lesson

The next Monday, Loki elected to go to Art’s shop to pick up their purchases on his own. It wasn’t for purposes of control or sex. Loki just wanted a chance to ask Art a few things without being worried that he would distress his professor.

Given their relationship, it was simple enough to arrange it. On Monday after class, Loki requested that Anthony go home to cook dinner, and then he simply went to the shop to pick up their things alone. The plan was to meet an hour later at the professor’s home.

To be quite frank, Loki was grateful for the time apart. Not that they were spending too much time together; nothing even close to that was happening. Given the narcotic effect that infatuation had on the brain, Loki was sure that wasn’t going to be an issue for quite some time. The problem was that he was terrified about the flogger. He’s made it through the spanking without doing anything horrible. He’d watched a dozen videos on the internet about how to use the flogger. He was as sure as he could be that he’d manage. He just really needed some time to himself beforehand to calm his nerves, and the drive was almost ideal.

Talking to Art about his questions seemed like a good idea as well, so that had clinched it. If anyone had the ability to lay his fears to rest, he thought that it would be the leatherworking Santa-Clause lookalike.

Interestingly, walking into the shop felt much more comfortable on his second visit, even though he didn’t have the support of Anthony on his arm. There were even people shopping, and somehow he managed not to feel incredibly self-conscious.

A young female employee sidled up to him a few seconds after he came in, though, and that did not help him. She coyly batted her eyelashes up at him. “Is there anything I can help you _try out_ this evening?”

Try out, indeed. He had no sooner opened his mouth, though, when Art’s voice interrupted. “You’re outta luck, Kiddo. He’s here to pick up the things I made for him and his boy.”

She pouted for a moment, but put a bright smile back on quickly enough. “Will you be needing anything else?”

“I came to speak to Art, actually.” Loki smiled at her as politely as he could manage. “But thank you.”

She sighed and nodded, than wandered off muttering something about ‘the good looking ones’, but Loki didn’t pay much attention. The important thing was that she was leaving him alone.

“Thought you might need to ask a few questions when you came to pick these up.” Art pulled a bag from below the counter and set it in front of Loki. “The collar he was looking at probably been on your mind, right?”

Loki’s eyebrows flew up. “Was my curiosity so evident?” He leaned his hip against the counter and tried to look casual. As casual as one could be when he was asking questions about buying a collar for a human being to wear.

“To anyone but him, sure. Not like you could help it.” Art leaned against the opposite side of the counter, striking a truly casual pose. He’d probably had this discussion with many would-be Doms before. “You’re pretty new to the game, and your boy’s looking at collars. Either you know what that means and it makes you a little nervous, or you don’t know, and you want to.”

“I looked it up online, of course.” Loki grinned brightly. “Is it really like an equivalent of marriage?”

Art grinned back. “A man who gives a damn what his boy is thinking and does his own research. I like that. Yes and no. There’s a similarity. Since it’s not legally binding, the real meaning of it is up to every couple for their own purposes. Of course, so are wedding rings, really.”

“And some people are more inclined to take things like that seriously than others.” Loki nodded thoughtfully.

“And I think you know exactly what kind of person your boy is.” Art agreed.

Running his fingers along the row of leather handle samples on the counter, Loki nodded again. “Does he always show interest in them, though?”

That drew a laugh. “Tony’s got himself a smart cookie this time. No. Haven’t seen him show any interest in them before. Didn’t know him with his first Dom, though.”

Loki looked up at him sharply. “You know about that?”

“Not really.” Art shook his head, but there was a tenseness around his mouth that told Loki he at least knew what they were discussing. “I mean, you get a feel for these things when you know a person a while. But we’ve never discussed it.”

“And his propensity for picking terrible men told you all you needed to know?” He tried to keep the question light, but Loki was sure that he failed utterly.

Art just smiled again. “Took him long enough to look for an intellectual equal. Kept telling him he’d never be happy with some dumbass beefcake Dom, but he seemed downright determined not to find a smart one.”

An intellectual equal. Loki smirked. “But he didn’t find me. I found him.”

“You found a sub like Tony without any training?” Art looked bemused. “That’s a new one. Good, though, if that’s what it took for him to find the right guy. He’s brought a few around before, but none of them ever suited him. He was never comfortable with them like he was with you.”

Loki found that immensely reassuring. “We do have a bit more in common than just… er, lifestyle choices.”

Art laughed again at that. “And a real gentleman. Not enough of those out there anymore. Just what Tony needs. Someone who gives a damn about his opinions without having to be told about them, 'cause he’s sure as hell not going to offer them up.”

Loki felt tension seep out of his shoulders at that assessment. He and Natasha had been right. He’d known it, really, but having someone with decades of experience confirming it made things better, somehow. “Any suggestions on how to deal with that issue?”

“Just what you’d do in any relationship with the same background.” Art shrugged. “Watch. Listen. Remember that half the time when he tells you everything is fine, what he really means is something’s wrong and he doesn’t want to admit it. Hell, you’re smart. You probably already know what his tells are, you just need to watch for them.”

Loki nodded his agreement. Nothing new there. The lip bite that he’d started spending so much time focused on. The loss of eye contact. The slip from ‘Loki’ into ‘Sir’.

Art looked over at the collars. “And be careful about serious displays of affection. It’s fine if he does it, but if he thinks you’re trying to play him, he’ll close up faster than you can blink.”

Again, Loki nodded in agreement. “The more I learn, the more it seems that it’s not particularly unlike any other relationship.”

“That’s about the size of it.” Art’s face bore the long-suffering look of a man who had been living with people’s ridiculous assumptions for far too long. “People make it into something else when they expect things they find in crappy novels. They’re not our people, they’re just making bad names for everyone who isn’t into plain old missionary position.”

Loki genuinely smiled at that. He’d been one of those idiots not so long ago. The implicit acceptance in Art’s statement was even more deeply satisfying for that fact. “Thank you, Art, I needed that reminder tonight.”

“Anything I can do to support young love, Loki.” Art’s smile deepened, bringing the Santa Clause comparison to mind again. “He’ll get there. He just needs more time than some of us.”

“When I think he’s ready, I’ll be back with an order.” He eyed the collars, picturing locking one around his professor’s neck. That was going to be a recurring fantasy, he thought to himself. Whether it was because of the sexy part or the trust part, he wasn’t entirely sure. He was falling hard and fast, and he wasn’t oblivious enough to miss the signs in himself.

He wanted whatever it was he had with the professor to continue for as long as possible, and it seemed that the best possible symbol of that fact was a beautiful leather collar.

Chuckling, Art nodded and started to move back toward his office. “I tell you what, Loki. I’ll start working on it now. It’ll be ready when he is.”

 

*

 

Twenty minutes later, Loki pulled into Anthony’s drive. What should have been a thoroughly relaxing drive had gone far too quickly, and he found himself sitting in the car wishing for more time.

Vigilance, he reminded himself. It was on his side. He knew Anthony’s tendency to worry about the enjoyment of others more than his own, and he would be on the lookout for it. He refused to consider what would happen if he didn’t notice.

Finally, he decided that it was no longer acceptable to sit in his car and make Anthony continue to wait. No doubt he’d gone to his spot near the door and waited on his cushion the moment he’d heard Loki’s car in the drive. Now that image always drove Loki forward. He wondered if it was even possible for that to get old.

Sure enough, his professor was kneeling across from the door. His head was down, and he looked to be concentrating on something. It seemed unlikely that he was doing complex computations in his head, so it was probably something Loki needed to find out about. A difficult prospect, to say the least.

“Hello, Professor.” He walked over to the kneeling man and ran his free hand through that lovely chocolate hair. “Something on your mind?”

Anthony looked up sharply, carefully moving only his eyes. “Sir?”

In response, Loki gave his hair a playful little tug, angling his professor’s head up to match his gaze. “I’m not blind, Sweet. There’s something you need to discuss with me.”

His face suffused with red, Anthony gave the tiniest of nods, but his eyes strayed back to the floor and he did not speak.

“Time to tell me what you’re thinking now.” Loki went back to stroking the hair. Anthony’s eyes lifted as far as Loki’s zipper and he, apparently unconsciously, licked his lips. Loki was not fooled by the obvious attempt to divert his attention. “As your friend Art pointed out to me tonight, Professor Mine, I am not the kind of easily distracted man you usually find for yourself. Lovely though the image you present is, I won’t be drawn so easily off target.”

Anthony’s eyes closed for a moment, and the look on his face shifted from seductive to fearful in the space of a few seconds. When he did speak, his voice came out as a whisper. “I’m just a little nervous, Sir.” His eyes darted madly between the floor and Loki’s eyes. The past and the present. Helplessness and empowerment. Finally, Loki felt something in the professor break. He leaned hard against Loki’s thigh, and said, so quietly that Loki could barely make it out, “I don’t want to disappoint you. But I’m nervous because you haven’t done this before.”

The fluttering in Loki’s stomach, which really felt more like some horrible creature trying to claw its way out of him, intensified. It was time to enact his plan. It was even harder than he’d imagined; and he’d expected it to be difficult. “You’re entirely right, Anthony.” He let his fingers drop to the back of Anthony’s neck in a deeply controlling gesture, trying to compensate for the words he had planned. “You’re not the only one nervous; I don’t find that a bit disappointing. I do not wish to harm you.”

Anthony peeked up at his face, still pressing himself against Loki’s thigh. “Thank you, Loki. I know you don’t want to hurt me.”

“Good.” Loki swallowed his nerves. “Then you’ll understand why I want you to demonstrate how this works.”

“No!” Anthony exclaimed instantly, his head whipping back to gape at Loki in an obvious knee-jerk reaction. He stared up for a second, his breathing accelerating too rapidly. Then he turned his face into Loki’s thigh, and worked to control it. “I don’t _want_ to hurt you, Loki.” His voice was muffled, but Loki caught the gist of what he was saying.

“Even better, Anthony. You can show me how not to hurt you.” He wouldn’t force anything, but he wasn’t letting it drop. It had taken too much to bring himself to say it. He couldn’t instantly give up and have Anthony think it had been nothing more than lip service.

Anthony whimpered against his leg. “Do I have to hit you, Loki?”

For a moment, Loki was nonplussed. Had he been unclear, or was Anthony just still trying to beg off? “I don’t really see another way for you to demonstrate, Anthony.”

Anthony pulled back, and the loss of contact was sharp and almost painful. It was all Loki could do not the grab him by the hair and press against him again. He leaned back on his haunches, though, and looked hopefully up at Loki. “I could use a pillow. I could show you. I don’t want to…”

Loki pressed his free hand to Anthony’s face. It was a concession, and frankly, one he felt all too willing to accept. The part where he avoided being hit with what was essentially a whip helped him make the choice, but the fact that it appeared to bother Anthony so much was the deciding factor. He should have expected it, but part of him had wondered if Anthony would latch onto the notion and quite enjoy the prospect of swapping roles.

It was a little embarrassing, how relieved he was. He made a note that at some point in the future, he would have to get past that — in both of them. If they were going to do it one way, it needed to be acknowledged that the other way wasn’t inherently incorrect. Anthony didn’t somehow deserve to be the one always on the receiving end.

“As you like, Professor Mine.” He felt himself take control of the situation once again, with those magical words. “I won’t ever force you into anything you find distasteful. I need you to know that.”

“Thank you, Loki. I’m sorry that—”

“Never apologize for saying no.” Loki interrupted. “You have a right to ask me to stop whenever you like.”

Anthony’s eyes drifted back up to meet his own once again and there was something unidentifiable in them. What Loki wouldn’t have given for the ability to read minds just then. Those plush lips curved up in a smile after a moment, though, which was immensely reassuring. “Would you like to eat dinner now, Loki?”

 

*

 

Dinner was a quiet introspective time for both of them. Loki was careful to make sure that Anthony got all the food he wanted, but neither of them was truly focused on the eating.

Loki imagined that Anthony was anticipating and dreading what was to come as much as he was. On the other hand, at least they had compromised, and both of them were getting what they wanted. Loki couldn’t think of another relationship where he’d successfully done that. In fact, he couldn’t think of another relationship where he’d cared enough to offer a compromise.

How strange that the relationship where he was quite literally Dominant was also the one where he cared enough to give his partner what he wanted. Maybe being given the power was what made him realize he didn’t want the power as much as he wanted Anthony to be happy.

When they were finished, Anthony wordlessly went to put the dishes in the sink and returned to where Loki sat in the chair. Quietly, he put his head on Loki’s thigh and looked up at him, brown eyes questioning and concerned. “Is there anything I can do for you, Loki?” For once, the words didn’t seem to have any specific query in them. He just wanted to know if there was anything he could do.

After speaking to Art about how Anthony might react to pressure, biting back any overly solicitous response came easier. Trying to give his professor all of the reassurance and… other things… that he wanted to give was a sure way to make him retreat. He needed time to get used to Loki, and realize that he was not going to leave or change into someone else.

So instead of saying something saccharine sweet, Loki simply allowed himself to be pulled from his reverie and smiled. “Time to head upstairs, I think.”

He motioned for Anthony to precede him and gave him a few feet of a head start, so that he had plenty of room to crawl. It didn’t hurt Loki’s feelings in the least that the extra few feet gave him an even better view. He picked up the bag on the way up the stairs, not even breaking stride.

When they arrived, his stomach was in a knot. He briefly entertained the fantasy that Art had given him the wrong items, so that it would have to be put off.

 _Overdramatic much, Loki?_ The disgusted voice in his head mocked him. _It’s just another form of what the professor wants. If you can’t give it to him, maybe you need to pack it in and look for a boring, low maintenance boyfriend._

Loki tried not to shudder at the notion. The last man he’d dated had been just that. A perfectly intelligent, gentlemanly sort who had all the right plans for the future and sweet cuddly vanilla taste in bed sport. Loki had gotten bored in five minutes flat.

Anthony was never going to bore him. Anthony was an eternal surprise, and a source of worry and nervous expectation. Anthony was perfect.

So what if it was still infatuation talking?

The professor, meanwhile, had come to a stop at the foot of the bed, kneeling on the pillow that Loki had placed there days earlier.

Loki had in fact brought a pillow to set somewhere in the house every time he’d visited the house in the previous week. It was becoming a source of amusement between them. After the ones placed in the kitchen and bedroom, Anthony had responded to the next pillow with mild surprise. As smart and quick as Loki ever gave him credit for, though, he had moved past it in seconds and throatily purred ‘ _Where would you like me to kneel now, Loki?_ ’ The following discussion of where Anthony might need to kneel in the future had been… enlightening.

Just then, though, he was looking nervously at his knees. Obviously, Loki needed to stop being so focused on reliving previous amazing sex, and work on making this sex amazing.

They were in a touchy situation. Right now, he thought, Anthony needed Loki to be in charge — loudly and obviously in charge. Loki was putting him in an uncomfortable situation by asking him to handle the flogger. He needed to make it more comfortable by making it an order. If Anthony’s list hadn’t indicated some experience with the device, Loki wouldn’t have even asked. But it did. And Loki was so much better at learning hands-on than theoretically.

So Loki would try to compensate by being as dominant as he could.

“On the bed, Professor Mine.” Loki motioned toward the center of the bed. He walked over to the side of the bed while Anthony climbed up, and pulled a pillow away from the headboard. After setting it in front of Anthony, he finally pulled the bag up and started pulling items out of it.

Art, unsurprisingly, truly was an artist. The chocolate brown leather cuffs were things of beauty. Loki almost wanted to drop everything and jump straight to attaching them to the posts of the bed and spreading Anthony across…

He shook himself out of the reverie. No. Dropping everything in favor of tying his professor up was not the plan. In fact, it might be exactly the opposite. He looked up at Anthony, who was staring longingly at the cuffs, fingers twitching as though he wanted to reach out and touch them. Now there was an idea.

“Do you like our new cuffs, Anthony?” Loki asked, putting the last one on the bed next to its siblings.

Anthony nodded. “Yes, Loki.” Then he looked up nervously, glancing at Loki’s eyes and then away, as though such an answer might be irritating.

“Good. You’d like to use them?” Loki prompted, smiling encouragingly.

“Yes, Sir?” Anthony replied, his eyes glued to the coverlet and a concerned questioning tone in his voice.

Thoughtfully, Loki stroked the tooled leather, decorated with lovely scrollwork. Worth every penny his professor had paid for them, in his opinion. “Once you’ve been a very good boy, and given me the lesson I want, you can attach them to the bed.”

His professor’s eyes flew up to meet his. “You’ll use them, and…” He was breathless suddenly, and this time is was in a good way. “Would you? And when you’re done with,” he motioned to the flogger, still in the bag. “You’ll…”

Reaching out to stroke his professor’s face, Loki smiled. “I’ll what, Professor?”

“Fuck me, Loki?” The words were whispered, but they were there. It was one of the most selfish, least violent things Anthony had ever requested. It was beautiful.

Loki nodded. “I would love to, my sweet professor.”

With new determination, Anthony reached for the bag and pulled the flogger out. “It’s, um, it’s about finesse. Not pressure. I mean, not that you shouldn’t use pressure, it’s just that the movement is more important.”

Loki set the pillow in front of him and looked on inquiringly. Taking on his usual teacher persona, Tony proceeded to give a thorough lesson on wrist movement, spacing, and control. It came complete with the romcom stereotypical ‘you do this while I hold your hand in place and guide your movements.’ In this case, though, it was actually meant as sexy, so it worked.

When they degenerated into Anthony trailing kisses up his neck while he practiced the wrist movement, he decided that it was probably time to stop dithering and get down to business.

“Very well, Professor. Attach the cuffs now.” He gave another few experimental strokes, wondering idly how much pain the pillow would be in, if it were human. Silly, but given the fact that his job was to give a small amount of pain, he thought it was a reasonable consideration.

Meanwhile, the professor moved at an impressive speed to fasten the cuffs to the posts of his bed, and then return to Loki on the bed. He was almost buzzing with anticipatory tension. “I’m finished, Loki.”

Loki set the flogger down on the bed, and leaned over to kiss Anthony softly on the cheek. “On the bed then, Professor. You remember that you can call a stop whenever you like?”

“Of course, Loki,” Anthony veritably dismissed Loki’s reminder.

Why did Loki have the impression that Anthony could be bleeding in a ditch and not use his safeword? Nonetheless, Loki nodded, and motioned for Anthony to lie face down on the bed. Then he proceeded to cuff him into position.

That brought on the erection that had been stubbornly eluding him for the better part of the evening. There was something oddly satisfying in buckling those cuffs closed around his professor’s wrists and ankles. He watched for any signs of discomfort in his professor’s face, and when he was done with the last cuff, he patted him lightly on the ass.

“Everything acceptable?” he asked, testing the bonds lightly.

Anthony was once again breathless. “Yes, Loki. Perfect.”

So Loki took a deep breath, and started. It wasn’t so much a matter of one whack and then the next, like the spanking, but a continuous motion. Anthony's skin turned bright red under the rain of leather strands. Just the thought of it on his own skin made Loki shiver. Was it acceptable that he was inflicting something he wasn’t sure he could handle receiving?

“Anthony?” He asked after a moment, looking for confirmation or denial.

Anthony’s response was a whimper at first, which didn’t seem like an immediately bad sign. After a moment, he managed to get a better breath and got out “Yes, Sir?”

Warning bells flared in Loki’s head, and he stopped cold.

“Sir?” Anthony sounded downright nervous, suddenly. There was pain in his voice, though, which was the confirmation that Loki needed.

“Given that tone, I believe this is where you give me a sign, Professor Mine. Yellow?” he prompted, trying to keep his own voice light despite his worry.

“I’m fine, Sir.” Anthony’s voice was small and worried, with a slight hitch at the end. Not acceptable.

Lowering the flogger, Loki ran the leather strips lightly across Anthony’s ass, drawing a charged whimper. That was much better. Alright. He could do this. Anthony wasn’t going to tell him he’d been doing it wrong. How could he use it to begin to move them past this?

“Sir?” Anthony’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

Loki ran the leather across his ass again in the opposite direction. Drawing himself up onto the bed between Anthony’s legs, he palmed one cheek. “I want to hear you say it, Anthony.”

Anthony turned his head this way and that, trying to find an angle where he could see Loki’s face. There wasn’t one, in his position. “Say what, Sir?”

“It doesn’t have to mean anything at all right now, Anthony. Just say the word for me.” Massaging the ass cheek in his hand, he was rewarded with another whimper. “Or just tell me that it was harder than you wanted.”

There was a long pause, each of them quietly considering his options. Refuse the other completely, and possibly ruin the scene? Give in, and lose something important? Try to find a middle ground? Was there a middle ground for something so polarized?

“It was a little hard, Loki. Softer, please?” The words were distorted, Anthony had said them almost directly to the coverlet. He had said them, though.

“I’d be happy to, Professor Mine.” Leaning down, he pressed a kiss into one cheek, then the other. “Shall we start again?”

Anthony whimpered and strained upward. “Please, Loki.”

This time, Loki started much more tentatively. He started with almost no pressure, and then built up a tiny bit at a time. In no time at all, Anthony was visibly struggling not to squirm on the bed. This time, though, it was in a good way. He moaned continually, obviously exerting enormous willpower to avoid pressing his cock into the bed in the attempt to get the friction it wanted.

“Is that better, Professor?” Loki asked in his best bedroom voice.

Anthony’s moan increased in volume as his mouth opened to answer, and it took a moment for him to completely control it. “Aaaah… yes, Loki. Thank you, Loki.”

“Is my professor enjoying himself?” Loki added more pressure for just a second, catching Anthony off-guard and making him drive his hips into the bed. Yes, Loki could do this. He had just needed a little time. It wasn’t too steep a learning curve, but there was a learning process.

“Yes! Yes, Loki. Thank you, Loki. Please…” the string of words broke off in another whimper when Loki added extra pressure for another fraction of a second. With that, Anthony stopped holding himself back, and just started rutting against the bed.

Loki chuckled at the loss of control, and just the sound of his amusement seemed to remind the professor that he wasn’t supposed to be doing what he was doing. 

“I’m sorry, Loki! I didn’t mean to. I’ll be good, I promise!” The firm control over the motions of his hips returned, and Anthony stilled himself. His ass was practically glowing pink and radiating heat.

Loki took a moment to slow his hand, and then stop it altogether.

That inspired another whimper. Anthony was a sniffling mess. He didn’t seem to be sure whether he wanted Loki to be done, or to keep going indefinitely. He did continue whispering, though. “Please, Loki. Please. Please…”

Please, was it?

Loki kept his voice low and calm, trying not to betray any of his own need. “Please what, Professor?”

It took a little time for the question to break through the professor’s apparent focus. “…plea- Please? Please…” When the professor finally realized he had to answer, he paused for a moment, seeming to consider options. “Please fuck me?” His tone of voice seemed to indicate a concern that this was the wrong answer, or that he wouldn’t get what he wanted.

Loki decided to fix that misconception right away. “How could I say no to such a lovely request?”

Despite saying yes, Loki very deliberately climbed down off the bed, causing Anthony to whimper pitifully, and seek him out. When Anthony’s eyes found him at the side of the bed, Loki very deliberately accepted the eye contact, smiled reassuringly, and set down the flogger on the nightstand. Reaching inside, he pulled out the bottle of lube and a condom.

“Are you ready for me, Professor?” Loki asked casually, because he had to say something, but asking for reassurance that he’d done well wasn’t what Anthony needed in that moment. Anthony needed dominant Loki, so that was what he would get.

His eyes had slipped down to Loki’s hands, and he nodded. “Yes, Loki. Ready.”

Resuming his position behind, Loki poured a generous amount of lube on his fingers. He decided that there was plenty of burn from the flogging, and Anthony didn’t need more coming from Loki being stingy with the lubrication.

He slid one lube-covered finger into Anthony’s ass, and followed it quickly with a second. The response was perfect. Anthony whined and squirmed toward him, trying to escape his bonds to get closer to Loki, not away.

Loki wasn’t in the mood to be cute or clever, so he placed a reassuring hand on Anthony’s lower back. “I know, Professor, I know. Just another moment. I won’t hurt you just to have you faster. I want you crying my name in ecstasy, not just pain. Yes?”

“Yes, Loki. Please, Loki. I’m ready.” Agreeing, but still determined to cause himself pain. At some point, they needed to have a frank discussion on just how much Anthony liked pain. If that was actually what he wanted, then Loki would have to reconsider his actions. But if he was just ignoring his own needs, Loki would at least be reassured that he was doing the right thing by ignoring it.

For the time being, Loki stood by his previous presumptions. “When I’m ready, Professor, and not a second before.”

Quashing the urge to take all night prepping his professor, Loki finished reasonably quickly. He was thorough, though, so when he slipped the condom on and slid inside, it was smooth and slick. Anthony’s voice wasn’t at all pained until their hips met and Loki’s body was pressed hard against his abused ass.

Even then, the pain was obviously overshadowed with pleasure. In fact, when Loki didn’t move, his professor quickly turned demanding. “Loki… just fuck me!”

Loki had learned enough about his role to know what to do with that. He took hold of the professor’s hair, pulled his head to the side, and put on his best disapproving voice. “I’ll fuck you at my pace, Professor Mine. And you’ll take it, and like it.” He tugged a little on the hair to further prove his point. “Won’t you?”

“Yes! Yes, Loki.” The professor’s voice went contrite, and he went still. Loki could feel the tension in him, though. He wanted nothing more than to resume squirming and trying to thrust his ass back into Loki.

So Loki drug it out a little. He pulled almost all the way back, gave Anthony’s ass a smack before thrusting back in, and starting to set a regular pace.

“Loki!” Anthony’s voice was positively wrecked. “Oh my gods. Loki… Yes!” Almost immediately, his words degenerated into incomprehensible moans and gasps, and Loki could only occasionally make out what sounded like it was supposed to be his name. Anthony’s body followed suit, pressing first back toward Loki and then into the bed wildly, like his life depended on it.

Anthony’s ass in front of him was rosy and heated, and every stroke was like sliding into a hot bath in the middle of winter. It was inviting, warm, wet perfection. The way Anthony obviously wanted to both jerk away and push back against him was maddening, and just as perfect as everything else.

It seemed like a good metaphor for the entire situation. Two opposing forces that were somehow both drawing Loki in the same direction. Every direction that he wanted to go was toward his professor.

Meanwhile, Anthony had dropped all of his usual self-control. He wasn’t slowing, or holding his place, or asking for Loki’s assurances. It was like this particular situation had freed him to do whatever he wished. Loki longed to know whether it was the flogging or the cuffs that resulted in the primal response. Whatever it was, it had to happen again. He’d never seen Anthony so wild. He felt like he was learning something important. He just wished he knew what it was.

The amount of time he had to spend musing on what he was learning was quite limited, though. He had a wild beast to control.

He wanted to cut off all paths to later recrimination. The last thing he wanted was an apology for this experience. Leaning forward, he kissed the side of Anthony’s neck. Then he moved his head up a little and whispered, “You are perfection, my professor. I want to feel you come around my cock. Give it to me.”

The feral cry Anthony released was almost instantaneous, and when his whole body tensed, Loki realized that he’d taken it completely literally. Then thought was swept away as the pressure of tense muscles around his cock washed over him. His vision went hazy and he heard his own voice crying out as though from a distance.

When the mental fog receded, he was lying across Anthony, who was just as nonresponsive as he was feeling. More so, in fact, because when Loki pushed himself up and pulled out, Anthony just whimpered. He arched his ass up off the bed, as though he didn’t want Loki to have ‘left’.

Loki loosened the buckles on the cuffs, technically setting Anthony free to move about. He chose not to, however, instead just lying there on his belly, rosy ass facing the ceiling. That looked a little painful, come to think of it.

Thinking quickly, Loki went to the attached bathroom and started searching through the medicine cabinet.

There. Aloe gel for burns. That would be soothing. Grabbing the bottle, Loki marched back into the bedroom, to find his professor still lying limp on the bed. If it hadn’t been for the considerable energy just expended on sex, Loki would have worried that something was wrong. Instead, he just assumed that his professor was tired.

He poured the aloe into his hands first, to warm it a bit, and then used both at once to apply it to Anthony’s reddened cheeks. The reaction was instantaneous and dramatic.

“Ah! What… what are you doing?” Anthony panted, obviously confused, twisting one way and then the other to try to get a look at what Loki was doing without actually pulling his hands free of the cuffs. He really quite liked to be restrained, it seemed.

Loki snorted. “You do recall telling my best friend that you were well versed in aftercare, don’t you?”

“What? Sure, I… Oh Loki, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m fine.” Anthony relaxed and settled back into the bed, though, obviously reassured that Loki wasn’t up to no good. Loki was absolutely certain that he didn’t want to know what Anthony had been worrying about.

Nodding, he continued his work. “I’m sure you are. And yet, it’s my job to worry about that. If you want the flogging, you get the aloe, too.”

Relaxing even more, Anthony gave a little “Mmmmm…” as though to acknowledge, and then pressed up into Loki’s ministering hands.

“And after a little struggle, I think it went well,” Loki continued. He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that Anthony would allow himself to be drawn into a discussion of what had happened. From his readings, Loki was reasonably sure discussing the scene afterward was a normal and healthy thing to do.

“Mmmmm…” was the entirety of Anthony’s initial response. Then he seemed to rouse himself and realize what Loki wanted. “It was perfect,” He drawled lazily.

Loki snorted. “It was not perfect. It was too hard. But after that? Better?”

There was a long, silent pause. Then Anthony nodded. “It was no big deal.”

“Professor Mine, we need to get past this now. If you refuse to tell me when I am incorrect, how will I ever learn the correct way?” Loki tried to appeal to his scientific nature, removing the right and wrong.

“I like it anyway.” Anthony’s voice was too quiet, too calm, and in Loki’s ears, it felt as though the man was receding before him.

Loki took a moment to appreciate the statement fully. It had been hard enough that he had been in pain. Not sex-based pain, but real pain. And unless Loki was reading the conversation incorrectly, Anthony was telling him that he liked that. He couldn’t have been seriously enjoying it. He’d seemed to enjoy it more when Loki had dialed it back. So either he was trying to soothe Loki’s ego, or he was confessing a level of self-loathing that made Loki want to grab him and hold him tight until he could barely breathe.

“I don’t.” He responded simply. He thought that covered his feelings on the matter quite decisively.

Anthony’s voice was a little confused. “You…?”

“I don’t like being incorrect. I want you to show me the right way, not just accept failure because you _don’t mind_ the results.” Loki said it matter-of-factly, trying to keep all recriminatory tone out of his voice. “Can you do that for me?” He finished rubbing the aloe into the skin of Anthony’s behind, and drew his hands away.

That was when Anthony finally opted to slip himself out of the cuffs and turn to look at him. “This is really important to you?”

“I don’t want to hurt you accidentally.” Loki nodded, reaching a hand out to slip around Anthony’s waist. “If I cause you pain, I want both of us to know it, and I want it to be entirely clear why I am doing so. Does that make sense?” 

Anthony nodded. “Yes, Loki. It does. And I’ll try.”

“Thank you, Professor Mine.” Loki climbed further up the bed and pulled his professor in to play his little spoon. “That’s all I ask of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, another chapter! It may be a while before more gets posted, but I have a goal that family Christmas will be posted on or before Christmas this year. Since there's at least one, probably two or more, part(s) between here and there, I'm not abandoning you guys, promise!
> 
> I just have a bunch of serious real life things coming up soon that may displace writing for a while. (not to mention multiple other fics that need updating.) 
> 
> Stupid real life is always getting in the way of the good things.


	8. Revelations

Loki would have happily gone to sleep right then and there, despite the fact that he had no clothes or school supplies at Anthony’s house. It was warm and comfortable, and he got to look down at his happy, sated professor.

Anthony’s hair was sticking up everywhere from where Loki had mussed it with his grabbing and pulling. His cheeks were rosy from the recent orgasm and exertion of the evening’s activities. His parted lips were swollen and red, presumably from having been bitten in an attempt to keep quiet. His eyes were half open, pupils darting back and forth as he considered some silent problem. It didn’t look like something Loki needed to worry about, though; it was a distinctly placid expression, if thoughtful.

It was curious, though.

“What is it everyone always says? ‘A penny for your thoughts’?” he asked lightly, trying to be clear that it was a request and not a demand.

Anthony looked like a chastised schoolboy, and immediately started to apologize. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, Sir, it—”

Loki put a finger to his lover’s beautiful lips. “I like when you drift off like that. Thinking about something that obviously matters to you." Seeing that he was not about to talk, Loki started stroking along the length of his mouth, enjoying the velvety softness on the pad of his finger. "I like that you’re comfortable enough in my presence to think about what you want to think about, and not just me.”

By the time Loki finished his little speech, Anthony had turned his head and was looking disbelievingly up at Loki. He was even more flushed than before, this time in apparent embarrassment. That wasn’t what Loki had been going for. Anthony didn’t need any more shame in his life.

Every time he said something he thought was nice, Anthony’s response felt like he was questioning why Loki was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. As though it was somehow ridiculous that someone could think something positive.

Loki smiled at him in a way he hoped wasn’t patronizing. “If you don’t want to tell me—”

“Math. I was doing math in my head.” The blush intensified. “It’s not very interesting. I was just calculating the amount of energy that would be required to achieve lift on the mass of the average human. Lots of factors to consider, including how—” he broke off suddenly, frowning. “Sorry, Sir. I know you don’t really care about that.”

“Why don’t I care about that?” Loki was actually curious. “You’re talking about mobility on a singular level. Flying? Like… jetpacks?”

“No, not jetpacks exactly. The feasibility of strapping a rocket to your back with the exhaust venting right next to—” Anthony blushed and trailed off with, “Well, you get it.” 

Loki laughed. “That could prove awkward. How long have you been thinking about this?” The conversation was obviously making Anthony a little nervous, but he couldn’t put a finger on exactly why.

Anthony hesitated before answering. “Since I was ten. Thought it would be nice to fly away from everything.”

The faraway look of pain in his eyes was like a blow to Loki’s gut. He wanted to go back in time and fly baby Tony away from the whole awful world.

Anthony frowned. “I haven’t been thinking about it the whole time, or anything.” That qualifier seemed somehow important. Of course. If he’d been thinking about it for that long, he should have had an answer by now, right? “I just think about it sometimes. Or how to write a computer program that can initiate fixes in its own code as it becomes outdated. Or how to make prosthetic limbs that respond more effectively to their users’ needs.”

“Let me get this straight.” Loki drawled slowly, amused. “You spend your downtime trying to come up with ways to make the world a better place?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Anthony looked genuinely confused. “Think about projects they might want to do, I mean?”

Projects they might want to do. Invent jetpacks and create artificial intelligence, filed under projects he might want to do. Loki was never, ever letting go of his professor. “Well I’d skip Skynet if I were you. But the others sound like fun.”

“Skynet? Sounds like a cool name. Has someone already done it?” Anthony seemed genuinely confused, and more than a little miffed.

“Only in fiction, Sweet, and it didn’t go so well.” Loki started petting his hair soothingly. “But you needn’t worry about that. Feel free to continue calculating your fuel-to-mass ratios.”

Anthony turned completely in his arms until they were properly facing each other. “It doesn’t bother you?”

“That you like to think of science? That you’re intelligent? That you’re creative, and passionate, and unique?” Loki found himself becoming less surprised by Anthony’s inability to see the good in himself, and he didn’t particularly like that. “No, Anthony. None of those things bother me.”

Anthony gave him a secretive little smile and burrowed his head into Loki’s pectorals. “Maybe someday I can make us fly.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Loki found himself smiling again, and it was even more satisfying than before. He was getting this boyfriend thing down. He didn’t know everything yet, but he was starting to know Anthony well enough to respond in a way that didn’t result in apologies and worry for the rest of the evening.

Why did it surprise him in the least that Anthony was spending his free moments doing math in his head?

Curled up around each other that way, they almost fell asleep. At least, Loki almost fell asleep — he couldn’t speak for Anthony. Either way, it was lovely and relaxing.

Then the phone rang. It wasn’t any of Loki’s ringtones, but some screeching rock song that seemed completely out of place in the elegant surroundings of Anthony’s bedroom. For his part, Anthony cringed.

Loki ran a hand along his arm supportively. “Should you get the phone, Anthony?”

“Don’t need to. It’s Rhodey.” The words were dismissive, but the tone tense and concerned.

“And how long has he been your friend?” Loki prompted.

“Since I started at MIT,” he admitted, blushing. “He was my first friend.”

Ever? Loki wanted to ask, but refrained. He suspected that he already knew the answer.

As much effort as it was going to take him to get over his petty jealousy, it would be worth it. Anthony had few enough things in the world that he loved. Loki couldn’t take any of them away. 

“You should talk to him, Anthony,” was all he said.

There was only a moment’s pause before Anthony reached for the phone. “Are you sure, Loki? Should I go in the hall?” His voice was small and anxious.

“No, stay.” It was only after he said it that Loki realized the words would be taken as an order. Too late to rescind them, but he tried to control the damage. “If you want to.”

Anthony slowly sat up and reached over for his phone. It was screeching something about being ‘back’, and Loki dearly hoped there was some significance to the song. Surely, that noise couldn’t be his professor’s taste in music?

Anthony pressed the screen a few times and then quietly answered. “Hello?”

“Tony? Everything okay? Am I on speakerphone?” The speaker on the phone came to life, and Loki had to work not to cringe on multiple levels. Anthony had thought he wanted this?

Again, Anthony hesitated. “Yeah, everything’s fine, Rhodey. And you are on speakerphone.”

“Don’t tell me. You’re grading papers.” Loki could almost hear the rolled eyes through the phone line. “You’ve got to get a life, man. What happened to tall, dark, and—”

“He’s sitting right here, Rhodey.” Anthony interrupted.

There was a silence on the other end. Loki sighed, and decided to butt in. “And he sees no reason to interfere with a private conversation. I’m going to get a drink, Anthony. Do you want anything?”

Anthony looked up at him, obviously surprised. “No, Sir. Thank you.”

Loki pulled himself off the bed, wishing for the tranquil happiness of five minutes earlier, and headed for the stairs. Rhodes’ voice followed him out the door. “What did I tell you? Tie you up and beat you.”

“It’s still not like that, Rhodey,” Tony’s voice responded immediately, sounding defensive. “No beating.”

Their voices receded as he went downstairs, only the surprised tone of Rhodes was still clear, and even that faded away as he headed toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was well organized, and Loki had seen Anthony retrieve enough dishware to have a general idea of where things were. He pulled a glass out of the cupboard nearest the sink, and filled it with ice water. Then, he dawdled in the kitchen for a moment. He didn’t really want to go back and interrupt the conversation.

And yet, he wanted exactly that.

Images of Rhodes saying filthy things to his professor irked him. His professor was his, dammit. He didn’t belong to Rhodes anymore. Anthony didn’t need Rhodes, he needed Loki. Right?

He found himself headed back up the stairs far too quickly for Anthony to have finished the conversation, and didn’t even stop when he realized what he was doing. Mature, Loki, the voice in his head told him snidely. This will prove to him that you trust him.

Halfway down the hallway, Anthony’s voice rang out in an irritated tone, “Shut up, Rhodes.”

It was a little strange, but Loki half wished Anthony would use than tone on him once in a while. Not that fighting was a good thing, but it would let him know that when they were agreeing, they were actually agreeing, and Anthony wasn’t just bowing to his wishes.

The response from Rhodes, still on speakerphone, made him feel a little better. “Damn. Wow, Tony. Okay, that’s not what I called about anyway. Good to know, and good to hear you standing up for yourself for a change, but I was calling about Christmas.”

Loki’s blood ran cold. Not because Anthony seeing his old friend offended him—though he didn’t look forward to that—but because of a conversation they’d had in bed not so long ago.

“Tell me Rhodes won’t be back for Christmas.”

Anthony was about to—

“I can’t do Christmas, Rhodey. Busy.” Tony’s clipped tone came before Loki could even finish the thought.

Rhodes sounded confused. “Busy? With what? You won’t have any work left after the term is over.” He paused only a second before chuckling. “Don’t tell me that your new Daddy has invited you home for Christmas?”

As much as Loki didn’t want Anthony to see Rhodes, he had to fix that. His jealousy shouldn’t keep his professor from doing things he enjoyed. Not wanting to eavesdrop, intentionally or otherwise, Loki forced himself to continue walking when he hit the threshold, and turned the corner into the bedroom. He was entirely unprepared for Anthony’s response to Rhodes heckling.

“Don’t call him that.” Anthony looked either horrified or angry, possibly both.

Daddy. He strenuously tried not to wonder at Anthony’s reaction to Rhodes’ thoughtless nickname. Frankly, he was happy his professor didn’t want to call him that. It was weird and creepy. It would have been the furthest thing from sexy he could think of, given Loki’s own copious ‘daddy’ issues.

Loki dropped his glass unceremoniously on the side table next to the door, not particularly caring if it spilled, and went to his professor’s side. “Anthony?”

“Loki.” Anthony looked up at him. Their eyes caught on each other, in a way Loki could almost feel physically.

“Yes. Loki.” He took the phone out of Anthony’s hands and set it down on the bed, then sat down and wrapped his arms around his professor. “Is the Colonel going to come have dinner with us over the holiday?”

“Loki?” Anthony repeated his name again, as though there was nothing else he could say, but Loki understood his meaning.

“I hardly got to know any more about him than his name last time we met.” He pulled Anthony into his lap, smiling reassuringly. “And he is a dear friend of yours, is he not? I’m sure you can make some time for him over the holiday, can’t you?”

“Hey, if you guys are busy…” the Colonel's voice piped up from the pillow where the phone was. There was hesitation and more than a little chagrin in it.

Loki took the phone and put it in Anthony's hand, the smile not wavering from his face.

Anthony’s eyes searched his face for a long time before he shook his head. “No," he said into the receiver. "We could do dinner, or something. You’ll have to get a hotel room, though.”

Rhodes’ laugh was immediate. “Duh, Tony.”

Loki was starting to like him a little better. “When will you be coming into town?”

“Around the 22nd, if one of those days works for you guys.” Rhodes answered amiably, including Loki in the conversation without question.

Putting his head in the crook of Anthony’s neck, Loki kissed the skin there while he considered the dates. Then he nodded. “I think any of those days works fine, except for Christmas itself. Plans that day, obviously.”

Anthony pulled away to look at Loki and mouthed, _plans that day_?

Loki merely winked at him, putting a sweet little smile on his face.

“Sure,” Rhodes agreed. “Well why don’t I get some hotel reservations, and I’ll be in touch about it then?”

“Sounds good, Rhodey.” Anthony said, looking to Loki for confirmation once again. “But we were kind of in the middle of something, so if there’s nothing important…” He trailed off deliberately, allowing for Rhodes to say something. They all knew he wouldn’t, since he’d have brought up anything important before then, but it was the appropriate thing to do.

“Nah. You guys get back to your ‘something’, and I need to get back to work anyway. See you soon, huh?” Rhodes didn’t sound surprised, bothered, or disingenuous in any way. He had to be an amazing liar, a good friend, or both — despite some of the less kind things Loki had thought of him.

Loki resolved to remember that the next time Rhodes’ mere existence made him irrationally jealous.

“See you, Rhodey.” Anthony answered, before hitting the end call button, then pressing the power button until the phone gave him the option to turn it off altogether. “Sorry I left my phone on, Sir. It won’t happen again.”

“But if I hadn’t overheard you dismissing Mr. Rhodes, we wouldn’t have had a chance to make holiday arrangements.” Loki let him lean over to drop the phone on the nightstand, but then pulled him back into a protective embrace.

Anthony hesitated, but apparently decided that what he had to say was worth it. “Are you… sure? You know you don’t have to have anything to do with him, right?”

“I’m aware of what I do and don’t have to do, Anthony. Mr. Rhodes is your friend, though, and I do not intend to keep you from him.” Loki gave a shark smile, and added, “But neither do I intend to leave you alone with him at any point in the foreseeable future.”

That brought out a smile. “I won’t be tempted, Loki.”

“I’m not worried about you, my sweet little professor. I just don’t know how anyone ever keeps their hands off you.” As if trying to illustrate, Loki ran his hands down Anthony’s sides, leaning in to kiss his neck at the same time.

The discussion of Rhodes at Christmas had reminded him, though. His mother wanted him to invite Tony home for the holiday. No time like the present, he supposed. How to do it without making it sound like a proposal of marriage?

“Mmmmm… Loki, if you keep doing that, I’m going to have to ask you to fuck me again.” Anthony ground his ass into Loki’s lap.

It was still warm with the heat of the prior flogging, and Loki had to bite back a moan at the wriggling. If the professor kept doing that, he wasn’t going to have to ask to be fucked at all. Wait, what was Loki supposed to be asking about? Oh, right. “Not to distract from the conversation, as I’d love to have my wicked way with you again, but I should do this while I’m thinking of it: my mother wanted me to invite you home for Christmas.”

Sadly, the squirming stopped. That was rather to be expected, though, given the turn in subject. Anthony half-turned to face him and gave him a self-deprecating smile that made Loki’s heart go soft around the sharp edges, and nodded. Was he actually agreeing to come home with Loki for Christmas? Was that excellent news, or terrifying?

What came out of Anthony’s mouth, though, was not at all what Loki expected or wanted. “I get it. You promised, so this is the obligatory ‘yes I asked and he can’t come’, right?” There was something awful and resigned in Tony’s eyes when he said it. It was as though he’d been bracing himself for a stab wound, but when Loki had stuck the knife in he’d realized that no matter how much he’d been prepared for it, being stabbed still hurt.

Loki frowned. “No.” Putting a firm hand on the shoulder further away from him, he tried to take control of the situation. “That isn’t what it is at all.”

To this, his poor professor just looked confused. “Sir?” he whispered questioningly.

“What it was, Professor Mine, was me inviting you home for Christmas.” Using his grip to pull Anthony to face him almost completely, he looked down at him. “And unless there’s somewhere else you’d rather be, I expect you to come.”

Fuck Odin, and judgement, and everything else that wasn’t Anthony’s feelings. All Loki wanted in the world right then was for his boyfriend to feel like a valued, needed human being. Fuck everything else. His professor _was_ a valued, needed human being. Besides, Loki couldn’t imagine anything that would soften the annoyance of having to spend a day with Odin any more than having Anthony with him.

Anthony gave a sort of half smile and wet his lips. “Well if you want me there, how can I say no?” He looked nervous and hopeful, like he expected Loki to snatch the words back and laugh at him for being so foolish as to think the request was real.

“Good,” Loki responded immediately. “I’ll tell her you’re coming. I think you’ll like each other.”

“You do?” More confusion filled Anthony’s eyes. As though any mother wouldn’t be thrilled with their child bringing home an intelligent, kind person, who had a steady job and thought up ways to improve life for humans in his spare time.

Loki grinned mischievously. “I think she’s always been secretly worried I’d bring home a member of a motorcycle gang. You know: a hard-drinking, chain smoking, swearing, leather wearing sort who encouraged me to drop out of college and do drugs."

“Your mother must have an interesting view on homosexuality.” Tony wriggled his eyebrows in response.

Their laughter filled the bedroom, then, mingling together in a way that was almost as intimate as the evening’s prior activities.

 

*

 

The next evening at awkward family dinner, Loki decided to drop the bomb.

Well, no, 'decided' was the wrong word. It didn’t start as a conscious decision on his part.

He’d always been rather happy with his and his family's superficial relationships. He loved Frigga, and sometimes Thor, but if they thought they loved him back, it was because they didn’t know him very well. Loki continued to be convinced that no one who knew him well could carry on loving him.

As far as Odin was concerned, the less information they shared, the better. Mostly in recent years, that had just entailed letting Odin think that he was straight. Loki didn’t think Odin actually believed it, but they all acted like it was true, and no one spoke of Loki’s love life. It had never been important before, because all of his relationships had been short and unimportant.

On this occasion, Thor was telling the story of his date with ‘little Jane’ from next door, and spent fifteen minutes extolling her many virtues. She’s so beautiful. She loves children. She’s so kind. Oh yeah, and she’s smart too. Loki tried not to roll his eyes at his brother’s priorities. Certainly, Anthony was beautiful, but even more, his brain was incredible.

Then with just ten little words, Odin brought every bit of bubbling tension to the surface:

“Why can’t you find a nice girl like Jane, Loki?” he asked, apparently deadly serious.

Even Frigga looked surprised at the question. “Dear?” She asked gently, as though trying to jog his memory for something else he was supposed to realize.

“I mean it, Frigga.” Odin frowned, ignoring the hint. “He spends all his time trying to compete with Thor in school, so he’s never even had a real girlfriend. He’s never brought anyone home to meet us. Thor’s going to invite Jane for Christmas.” Odin paused, realizing that the question of Christmas hadn’t actually been addressed. “Aren’t you, Thor?”

“I… I can ask, Father.” Thor looked befuddled. “I had not considered it. We have only just begun seeing each other.”

Lovely. And suddenly this was a competition, too.

Anthony was not a competition. He wasn’t going to parade him out like a show horse to be set up next to Jane and judged on relative merit. But he had already invited him. How could he fix it, without backing out on his invitation — an act that would surely hurt his professor?

“Speaking of which,” he interjected. “I did as you asked, Mother.”

Frigga perked up noticeably. “You did?”

“Yes.” He said in a clipped tone. “Since you requested that I do so, I invited my boyfriend to Christmas dinner.”

Very deliberately, Loki did not look at Odin.

He did not need Odin’s approval. Anthony was worth more than approval. If Odin didn’t like him, Odin was the one who was wrong. It wasn’t like when he questioned Loki’s choices in clothing, or haircuts, or college majors. Loki had no doubt in this. He would never do better than Anthony. No one could. No one was perfect, obviously, his professor included. But Anthony was the closest thing to perfection Loki had ever met, and he would not have him belittled in any way.

So Loki focused on the person sitting across from him — Thor. Who was grinning like an idiot.

“I thought you had no boyfriend, Brother!” he boomed in that ridiculous voice of his. “At least, so you kept telling me.”

“Yes, well, I was lying.” Loki shot back. “I had no interest in having you interfere with my love life, like that time you showed up in the middle of a date.”

Thor shrugged completely unapologetically. “I did not believe that you would date so unappealing a man as he. Given what I have discussed with Jane, it sounds as though Anthony is much more appropriate.”

“Jane knows him, Thor?” Frigga was beaming. “How lovely! Then everyone will be friends already on Christmas.”

Thor shook his head. “She knows him by reputation only, Mother.” Then a calculating look crossed his face. Sometimes it showed that he had been raised alongside Loki. “But I did hope that perhaps Loki and Anthony would have dinner with us to celebrate the end of the semester in two weeks. It is Jane’s first, you know.”

 Frigga’s smile got even wider. “What a wonderful idea, Thor! Don’t you think it’s a wonderful idea, Loki?” She turned her most dazzling smile on him, the one that made him want to please her more than he wanted to be happy.

Having dinner with Thor and Jane wouldn’t be so awful, would it?

“I’ll have to see if Anthony has any time free,” he hedged. It was true. Compiling end-of-term grades seemed like it would be a time consuming job. And being willing to forego his own preferences for his mother was different than being willing to forego Anthony’s preferences.

Meanwhile, Odin had remained silent through the conversation.

It felt a little like being inside a teakettle that was about to boil. The pressure was going to overwhelm the contents at any moment, and the feeling of it building and building was almost painful.

When it actually boiled over, it felt like an anticlimax.

“Loki is dating a boy?” Odin seemed utterly nonplussed.

Frigga breathed a sigh of relief, and Thor looked dumbfounded. “Of course he is, Father. Loki only dates boys.” He said it in a tone of voice that implied he himself hadn’t been surprised by it just a few months earlier.

“I see,” Odin responded, still more confused than irritated. “That would explain why he hasn’t ever brought a girl home.”

Frigga beamed. “Just so, Darling. But now he is seeing someone, and he has invited him home for the holiday.”

Odin seemed to consider that for a moment, and then he nodded. “Well, we’ll just see if this boy is good enough for one of my sons.”

Just barely keeping himself from rolling his eyes and insisting that Anthony was not a boy at all, Loki smiled thinly and let the whole thing drop. Such stubborn and defensive assertions always served to make a person look more like a child, not less.

Fortunately, Frigga seemed to catch Loki’s discomfort. That, or she just assumed it would exist, and dealt with it. She changed the subject to how she was planning to finish her Christmas shopping in the next week, and that Odin should be sure to get his done as well.

She looked pointedly at Loki, and then smiled over at Odin again. “There’s a little extra to do, after all, since our boys are both bringing someone home with them.”

Once again, a completely calm Odin just nodded his acquiescence. “You’re right, of course.”

Loki was oddly unemotional about it. He probably should have been elated at the tacit acceptance. It was one of the most fatherly things Odin had ever said to him.

He’d spent years preparing for an explosion when Odin had to face the truth, though. He’d spent years thinking that Odin knew, but was willfully ignoring it. Had he really been so blind about Odin’s awareness? Had Odin really been so blind? Was it strange that some part of him had wanted the explosion? Had wanted to storm out of the house, righteously angry at being judged for something he couldn’t control?

He wouldn’t say it was displeasing, but it felt wrong, somehow.

They all just went on eating dinner as though they hadn’t just finished discussing a thing that tore other families apart on a regular basis. Frigga forced them to eat apple pie together, and asked about Anthony and Jane’s culinary preferences.

Thor, of course, had no clue. “She seemed to enjoy her hamburger last night,” he offered in as hesitant a tone as Loki had ever heard from his mouth. A few dates didn’t exactly give a great point of reference for such things, though, so Loki couldn’t much fault him.

Frigga turned to Loki, “What about Anthony, Dear?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. “He’s partial to sweet things.” He wasn’t going to share tiramisu specifically; that was their thing. No harm in sharing the generalities, though. “He doesn’t much like raw tomatoes, and he’s allergic to oysters.”

Odin nodded seriously, looking oddly pleased. “None of that oyster stuffing nonsense, then.” He curled his nose up.

Ah yes, that.

Frigga had been trying new and different things in the previous few years’ holiday dinners, and the oyster stuffing had been a resounding success — with everyone but Odin. How amusing. Anthony had already accidentally endeared himself to Odin. Loki was glad he’d learned of the allergy a few days earlier during a discussion of local restaurants.

He frowned at that thought. It really was impossible to erase a lifetime’s programming, wasn’t it? He so wanted everyone to love Anthony as much as he did. Like. To like Anthony as much as he did. Care for Anthony as much as he did?

Oh, whatever. A man’s thoughts were still his own, after all. Anthony couldn’t be bothered by what Loki only thought to himself.

He wanted everyone to love Anthony as much as he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems I'm adding more and more for myself between now and Christmas. Since I'm also trying to finish another fic in the meantime, well... *sigh*
> 
> No smut, because adding smut to the end of this would have been weird and awkward. It will be next, and hopefully soon!


	9. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Tony have achieved a point in their relationship where it's time to meet each other's respective 'family': Loki at a pre-holiday dinner with James Rhodes, and Tony at Loki's family Christmas.

"So then Tony, smartass that he is, says _I have no idea how that cow got on the roof, Dean Jones, but it's definitely not mine. I’m lactose intolerant._ " Rhodes finished, putting on the same façade of dramatic innocence Tony himself probably had, all those years ago, and Loki burst into impolite guffaws all over again.

Somehow, Colonel Rhodes had managed to keep a straight face during all of his ridiculous stories of their time at MIT. Loki, on the other hand, had been struggling to hold back laughter since halfway through the first, and his face was aching from smiling so much. All of that was odd, since he wasn’t a person who spent much time laughing.

Why had he been so hesitant about getting together with Rhodes?

Well, other than the uncontrollable jealousy...

He was still trying to keep that at a low simmer, particularly since he was starting to like the man. Sometimes it was just hard to remind himself that Anthony was allowed to have been involved with people before himself. It was painful, but it was his problem to get past.

If all of Anthony's exes turned out to be as pleasant, amusing, and concerned with Anthony's happiness as Rhodes, Loki figured he could probably get behind that.

As the laughter faded, Anthony looked a little awkward and concerned, his eyes continuing to flick back and forth between Loki and Rhodes. He seemed to spend more time on Loki, a fact that spoke volumes on what exactly he was concerned about. He wasn't worried that Rhodes would be dissatisfied with Loki, a presumption that Loki understood: Anthony knew Rhodes very well. He knew how Rhodes' mind worked.

Loki, unfortunately, was still something of a wild card. Would he be irrationally jealous of what was obviously a very close friendship, or would he understand?

If anyone had asked him at the beginning of the night he'd have said it was the first, easily. After sitting through a very enjoyable dinner with the man, though, Loki was reasonably sure that he was in the middle of a complete turnaround on his previous assumptions. That was not something that often happened to him.

Rhodes wasn't just friendly and charming, though. He was something Loki rarely saw outside his mother and brother: the asshole was completely sincere.

He had opened the conversation by telling Loki how happy he was that the two of them had found each other. It was obviously a calculated move, planned because Loki was aware of the previous sexual relationship between Anthony and Rhodes. Given the fact that the man obviously meant it, however, Loki couldn't bring himself to dismiss it.

Acutely aware of Anthony's discomfort, Loki had decided at the beginning of dinner to try to make both of their evenings easier. It was an odd feeling. He'd never done that for anyone but his mother before. That combined with the fact that Rhodes was easier to talk to than Odin or Thor, and the whole evening had been a pleasant surprise.

"So what made you decide to go into the military?" He asked, trying to fill the gap in conversation.

He'd been told to _'call me Rhodey_ ', but Loki always struggled with such informality. Odin had always encouraged his sons to be as polite as possible, and that did not include calling new acquaintances by nicknames. So instead of offending the colonel, Loki was trying to avoid using a name at all.

Rhodes chuckled in response. "Well unlike Tony here, my family couldn't pay for an MIT education. Since the Air Force wanted a guy with one, they paid for me to go. I just promised to spend a certain amount of time in uniform to repay them."

That, of course, made perfect sense. It wasn't difficult for Loki to imagine giving up his career plans in exchange for an education if it had been otherwise out of his grasp. The more he learned about James Rhodes, the more he found that he not only liked the man, but could empathize with him. Damn it.

"That sounds like a fair deal," Loki nodded.

Anthony, meanwhile, made a sound of distress. He kept his mouth shut though, a habit that continued to make Loki feel like an ogre.

He was never quite sure how to handle it when Anthony started hiding himself in the effort to make Loki happy. He needed more experience with making it clear that an honest disagreement was never going to make him angry.

"You don't agree, Anthony?" He tried to ask it conversationally, but it came out _too_ light, like he was angry with the implicit disagreement. Rhodes raised an eyebrow. Loki sighed, and reached his hand under the table to squeeze Anthony's knee reassuringly. "Why not?"

Anthony did look reassured, and he gave Loki a cute relieved smile. "Doesn't it seem too much like indentured servitude to you?"

"I suppose that is a valid comparison," Loki agreed. "But is that worse than not being allowed to get an education?"

Anthony frowned, his passions obviously incited. "It's the next best thing to slavery, Loki. It's awful. If they want him to work for them, they should just pay him enough to keep him."

Rhodes sighed, the look on his face telling Loki that it was a conversation they'd had many times before. Anthony did have the capacity to be exceptionally stubborn when something was important to him.

"I don't agree," Loki said, shaking his head. "Slavery is illegal because it infringes on the rights of the enslaved. They don't have a say in their own lives."

"What if Rhodey's say is that he wants out?" Anthony asked petulantly.

Loki considered that for a moment. "Then there has to be a legal recourse for him to get out, in order for it to be properly ethical," he nodded to Anthony. "Perhaps they would make him repay them for his education costs."

Rhodes cocked his head in apparent confusion. "You know, I never thought about it. I probably could. But I made an agreement, and I'm following through. Don't see a reason to worry about it."

Anthony sighed in exasperation. "You could be making ten times as much working for an independent company."

"So could you," Rhodes gave Anthony a smile. "Sometimes the money just isn't as important as self-respect."

The statement had the feeling of something being quoted, and it made Anthony look down at his plate in that quiet submission he gave when pushed too hard.

Rhodes immediately knew what had happened and sighed, "I'm sorry, Tony. That was out of line. Totally different situation."

Loki burned to ask the obvious questions, but whatever the sudden tension was about, it obviously distressed Anthony greatly. That was never something Loki wanted to cause on purpose. In fact, it was his job to relieve the building tension. As boyfriend, and the only non-involved party, he was supposed to make everything okay for Anthony again.

"So your family is somewhere upstate?" He directed the question to Rhodes, wanting to give Anthony time to calm and compose himself. "I think that was what Anthony said the last time we met."

Rhodes nodded, obviously relieved to have the distraction. "Yeah. Huge family, all of them but me still living in the same tiny town where I grew up. Mom always tells me she knew I was the one who would go off on my own."

Loki nods at that. "My mother is like that, too. I think she knew I was going into science before I did. Some degree of precognition seems to be required to be a mother."

That was when the waitress came by to offer the dessert menu, so there was a moment of comfortable silence while they all considered options. Loki wasn't much for sweets, but he knew that Anthony was likely to order something.

As Loki looked at the coffee options, there was a tentative hand nudging his arm. He looked to Anthony, who had turned a hopeful gaze on him. Their eyes met, and Anthony glanced down at the dessert menu and back up to him. Loki smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way and put his hand on Anthony's. He knew he was being asked for permission, and he had a sudden need for Anthony to decide what to do for himself.

Was that inappropriate? Part of him wanted to take Rhodes aside and ask him all the questions he had about how he should act when Anthony's submissiveness started to make him nervous. Should he give Anthony the permission he was looking for? Order for him? Was he going to be able to spend the rest of his life doing that?

Whoa... The rest of his life? Where had that come from?

In any case, the answer was no. He didn't think he could spend the rest of his life making all of Anthony's decisions. There had to be a limit, and frankly, Loki would prefer if it ended with Anthony's front door. Well, and any sex they might have outside the house...

But that was a distraction, and a conversation for another time. 

Instead, he put on a soft smile and asked, "Are you going to have something, Anthony?"

His sweet little professor flushed and bit his lip. "I was thinking about the tiramisu..." He let his sentence trail off to give Loki the opportunity to deny him.

He just chuckled. "That sounds like you." Then he offered a meaningful look that he hoped reminded Anthony of their adventure in wound care.

It seemed to work because Anthony blushed and nodded.

Loki was almost surprised when Rhodes' voice drifted across the table. "Sure does. It's always been his favorite. I kept telling him he's making himself into a giant gay stereotype, but I guess you don't choose your preferences in sexuality or dessert."

"Indeed not," Loki confirmed. "And as far as stereotypes go, it could be a lot worse. A friend of mine is dating a man who drinks cosmopolitans, and he's not even gay."

That incited laughter all around, and it felt like the earlier awkwardness had been dispelled. In fact, all of the worry Loki had felt coming into the evening seemed to have been alleviated. Rhodes was obviously an important part of Anthony's life, and they had known each other for many years, but Loki hadn't once felt like the third wheel. Rhodes seemed genuinely pleased at their relationship.

Still, he was left with a desire to take the man aside and ask him a thousand questions. Then he was reminded of the cane and of the rope that had been attached to Anthony's bed when he'd first arrived. Maybe feeling his own way through was for the best. It led him to ask Anthony's opinion more often than he would if he thought he knew it all, and the best things he had learned so far had been by listening to Anthony.

In the end, he realized that even if he thought he could learn something of value from Rhodes, discussing Anthony outside of Anthony's hearing would be the equivalent of treating his lover like a child. That was completely unacceptable. Anthony was already determined to put Loki above himself in all things. Loki was not going to implicitly agree with the idea that it was acceptable.

Anthony and Rhodes ordered their desserts, and while Loki began to tell the waitress that he didn't need anything, the look of concern Anthony gave him changed his mind. He ordered espresso and hoped it was enough to appease.

Anthony seemed pleased enough, so he allowed himself to not worry about it.

"So," Rhodes began as soon as the waitress left, "when does this class end, so we can stop driving all the way across town if we want to have dinner in public? Not that this place isn't great and all, but the whole intrigue thing isn't really Tony's style, and I doubt it's yours, either."

Loki nodded his agreement, though that wasn’t entirely true.

Anthony sighed and nodded as well. "Wednesday. Longest month of my life."

Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "Even counting those weeks in the hospital? You started whining about that pretty hard toward the end."

Loki sat up at that. _Weeks_ in the hospital? The longest he’d been in one was that time he caught pneumonia at sixteen, and he’d been released after four days. He glanced at Anthony, wondering what could possibly have landed him in a hospital for so long. A car accident?

Anthony frowned, tension creeping back into his shoulders. "That was another lifetime, Rhodey."

Damn. The curiosity was almost unbearable, but Loki was not going to ruin Anthony's evening by asking uncomfortable questions. If he ever wanted to discuss it, they would. Otherwise it was none of his business. He smiled at Anthony and squeezed his hand again. "It has been a long month, hasn't it?"

"You two should see yourselves.” Rhodes chuckled and shook his head. “I don't think I've ever seen Tony this pathetically smitten."

It made Anthony blush adorably, and Loki squeezed his arm.

"That sounds perfectly acceptable to me."

Oddly enough, despite the fact that he had never been in anything resembling a real relationship, he found that the words were completely true. The silence that followed felt comfortable to Loki, so he didn’t dwell on the fact that his words had been the last uttered before desert arrived at the table.

That was a new feeling.

On the other hand, none of the companionable sentiment stopped him from firmly marking his territory as they left the restaurant half an hour later. When the three of them had put their coats on and walked out into the frigid December air, Loki twined his arm around Anthony and pulled him in tight.

“Did we have other plans for the evening?” he asked in his most congenial tone. “Because if not, it’s getting a bit late…” He deliberately trailed off, allowing Rhodes to think whatever he liked.

He doubted that the man felt a need to believe that they were chaste, but if he wanted to believe that Loki was going to tuck Anthony in and kiss him on the forehead before heading home to sleep alone—well, if one added sex before that, it actually sounded sort of lovely.

Pushing Loki further into his camp, Rhodes laughed. “Nah, man, I don’t wanna infringe on young lovers’ time. Plus I gotta get up early if I want to get home in time for lunch tomorrow. But if you guys are cool, we could do this again on the 27th. I’ll be back in town that night to catch my flight out the next day.”

“That sounds lovely,” Loki agreed, but looked down to Anthony before giving an actual answer. When he found a hopeful expression, he grinned. “I’m sure we can make time for that.”

Anthony leaned in and rested his head on Loki’s shoulder. “Sounds good, Rhodey. Maybe that place near the house next time.”

Rhodes rolled his eyes. “Fine, the Thai one. As long as you don’t expect me to go to that shawarma place again.”

“Well if Anthony is paying,” Loki reminded, “maybe he should pick what he wants. What’s a shawarma?”

“It’s awesome, Loki. Completely awesome.” Anthony snuggled further into his shoulder. “We’ll get some. Without that philistine there to ruin it.”

So they parted ways there at the restaurant, Rhodes heading back to his hotel and then off to his family holiday the next morning. It was perfect, really. Maybe at some unforeseeable point in the future Loki would be okay with Rhodes staying the night, but less than a month into their relationship, he wasn’t there yet.

Besides, he wanted to take Anthony home, strip him naked in the foyer, press him up against the wall, and — well, perhaps best not to get too far ahead of himself when there was a half hour drive between them and sex.

On the other hand….

Anthony was driving, as they had taken his car to meet Rhodes.

It could certainly be a chance to press his poor sweet professor. Maybe even finally get a ‘no’ out of him. Loki straightened at the thought. That was more important than tormenting Anthony. He was a captive audience while driving, and Loki could have a discussion about changing safewords.

He waited until they were seat-belted in, and Anthony had turned the car onto the road home.

Sneaky but sensible, that was Loki.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up with you, but I keep forgetting.” He tried to keep his voice neutral, since he didn’t want his tension to make Anthony nervous.

“Oh?” Anthony’s voice had tensed only slightly, so he counted it as a win.

Loki reached over and put his hand on Anthony’s leg. “I wanted to revisit our discussion of safewords. I suppose I realized that I need one, too. Just in case, right?”

After a moment, Anthony nodded. “I guess that’s a good point. I hadn’t thought of it.”

“But I was thinking,” Loki steered the conversation in the direction he really wanted to go. “Maybe we should have the same safe word, to simplify things.”

Anthony paused at that idea. He obviously wanted to say no, and Loki was sure it had nothing to do with whether he liked sharing. Loki had wondered if the word was laden with unpleasant memories for Anthony, and it seemed that he was right.

He decided to forge ahead and make the whole point before Anthony answered. “I just don’t think I could be comfortable using yours. It’s not nearly neutral enough for me. So I was hoping that maybe we could choose a new one. Together.”

After another moment of thought, Anthony gave a tiny smile and then nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Oh, good! I was thinking something along the lines of ‘Loki, I know you’re a sex god, but I need a break’. How does that sound?” He paused long enough to let Anthony digest that and start chuckling, then went on. “Okay, fine. Something serious. Um…” He tried to come up with a random word. It was harder than he had expected. Finally, his brain turned on and supplied, “Waterfall?”

A moment passed in silence, and Loki started to worry that the word had some negative connotation for his professor.

 “That sounds fine.” Anthony’s voice sounded as though he’d been given a logic puzzle that he couldn’t immediately solve.

“Are you sure?” Loki decided to prod. “You sound befuddled.”

“Befuddled? Really? Is that even a word anymore?” Anthony mocked in return, a sly smile growing on his face.

Loki laughed out loud. “Probably not,” he admitted. “My idiot brother is a Shakespeare fanatic. I’m sure I picked it up from him. Should we use it instead, since it seems to amuse you so much?”

Anthony looked at him again. He was heartbreakingly adorable, with his nose still slightly red from the cold and his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Nah. Waterfall is good.” He started to bite his lip and then stopped and deliberately let go of it. “I like it. It’s… neutral.”

“Good.” Loki smiled. A thought struck him then. It wasn’t Natasha’s idea, but it could work. He could always do Natasha’s thing as well, to reinforce the use of safewords later on. “Now I think we need to try it out.”

Tony looked even more befuddled. “To do what?”

“Well let’s start simple, Professor. What’s the safeword?” Loki let the hand lying on Anthony’s leg skim up toward the juncture of his thigh.

“W-waterfall. Loki.” His sweet professor’s voice trembled a bit with the realization that something was about to happen.

“And do you need me to stop now?” he prompted.

“No. No, Loki,” his professor answered breathlessly.

Slipping his hand up to the professor’s fly, Loki slowly unbuckled his belt and worked his pants open. “Feel free to turn the heat up if the temperature makes you at all uncomfortable, Professor.”

Anthony obediently altered the car’s temperature by a few degrees.

“Now I want to be very clear about this, Professor Mine.” He reached slowly into Anthony’s boxer shorts and wrapped a hand around his swiftly stiffening cock. “You don’t get to come in the car.”

The professor went still. “Loki?” His eyes darted briefly to Loki’s, before remembering themselves and returning to the road.

“I believe that you heard me.” Loki smiled in return. He wished he could press himself up against Anthony’s side, but taking his seatbelt off while the car was in the middle of a busy street was a bad idea. He was all for breaking the rules, but not generally when it put life and limb in jeopardy. “You are not to come. No matter what.”

“I… I’ll try, Loki.” Anthony looked positively delicious with his face so conflicted. Enjoy it? Don’t enjoy it? Try to pretend it isn’t happening?

Sliding his hand slowly up and down the length of the professor’s cock, Loki smiled devilishly. “Oh, you’ll succeed, Professor Mine. You know exactly how to get me to stop. I know you would enjoy the punishment for failing, but I promise you, you’ll enjoy the reward for succeeding even more.”

The strangled sound he got in answer to that was exactly what he wanted. The game was on. He had at least ten minutes before they arrived at Anthony’s house, so at first, he didn’t even rush it. He took his time, stroking slowly, listening to his professor’s hitching breath.

“Eyes on the road, Professor.” Loki admonished a few moments later when those beautiful eyes slid down to his lap. “You don’t want to get us killed, do you?”

“No Sir,” Anthony whimpered. “But if… if I say—” he paused to drag in a deep breath when Loki slid his hand up and dragged his thumb softly over the tip of the shaft. “That. If I say _that_ , then—”

“Then I stop. Until we agree that it’s time to start again. Any time you need me to stop, for any reason. Isn’t that the rule?” Loki let up on the pressure, not wanting to compromise his professor’s thought process so much that he couldn’t answer.

“Y-yes. Yes, it is. But will you… I don’t want…” The worry on Anthony’s face was heart-rending.

“When you say the word, I stop,” he reiterated. “Always. And then when we get to the house, you get what you’ve earned. If you want it.”

“Even if I say—”

“No matter what you say.” Loki leaned over and nipped Anthony’s earlobe. “Saying the word isn’t a punishable offense, sweet. It’s a way we communicate.”

Anthony turned the car down a quiet residential street that was just a few minutes away from his house. Loki decided it was time to pull out the stops.

Taking a quick glance around, he went for it. He slipped the chest strap of his seat belt behind himself and leaned over into Anthony’s lap. Pulling the silk fabric down far enough to release Anthony’s erection, he flicked his tongue across the tip.

“Loki!” Anthony’s voice pitched up as high as Loki had ever heard it, and cracked at the top.

He flattened his tongue and licked a lazy stripe from the base of Anthony’s cock all the way to the tip. Then slowly, he turned his head so that he could see the professor’s face. “Yes, Professor?” he asked in his sultriest tone.

“Oh god. Nothing. Please continue, Loki.” Anthony was flushed, and had his eyes fixed firmly to the road.

Frankly, Loki was impressed. He didn’t think he could have done it.

He was also grateful that their—negative, of course—test results had come back from Planned Parenthood the week before. They had yet to finalize a contract, but they had agreed that since there would be no other partners, and Anthony disliked condoms, it was acceptable to stop using them.

It still felt like a huge taboo to Loki, and he had to admit that he liked it a little bit more just for that.

“I believe I shall continue,” Loki grinned and turned back to face the object of his desire. Anthony had been right. Foregoing condoms was a boon. Being able to just lean over and lick his professor was utter perfection.

He ran his tongue around the head, then slowly slid it between his lips. It occurred to him that he hadn’t done this for Anthony before. How remiss of him. He couldn’t compare to Anthony’s incredible skills in the area of blowjobs, but it didn’t mean that he shouldn’t try at all.

He’d just been so damned distracted by everything they _had_ done, he’d lost track of what they hadn’t done.

Anthony’s hips jerked forward a tiny bit, the motion oddly uncontrolled for him. Perhaps the interlude was coming to an end.

“Loki,” Anthony whispered, his voice straining. “Please…”

He was sorely tempted to hum in response, but he didn’t want to force his professor over the edge. Instead, he paused and looked up, raising his eyebrow.

Anthony looked positively wanton, flushed bright pink, and hair sticking up every-which-way. It seemed he’d taken up running his left hand through it as a distraction or some such. His breath was coming in short gasps, and he was very deliberately looking at the road, and _not_ Loki.

So close. How to push him one more time without pushing him over? Loki slowly lowered his head, taking in as much of Anthony as he could. There were just so many options that would drive his professor mad.

It didn’t even occur to him that just continuing would do the trick.

He was just about to pull up for air when he heard the breathy whisper above him.

“Waterfall.”

He immediately pulled off and sat up, examining Anthony’s body language. His professor was tense, but didn’t seem particularly more nervous than before. He did abortively pull his lip between his teeth and then let it go—twice. There was no fear, though.

Loki leaned over and put his head on Anthony’s shoulder. “Well done, Professor Mine. Are we far from home?”

Anthony’s head leaned over to rest lightly on the top of his. “Not far at all, Loki.” His voice was nothing but contentment.

Loki felt like the drive took forever, but it couldn’t have been more than another few miles. They pulled smoothly into the driveway and the professor slipped the keys out of the ignition and into his pocket. They both sat there, resting on each other for another moment, the only ambient sound that of the engine clicking as it cooled.

“Should we go in, Loki?” Anthony’s voice was quiet, but not nervous.

Loki hummed. “Yes, I suppose we should. I promised you a treat, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Loki. Did-did I earn it? Sir?” He still didn’t move, and his voice was so earnest that Loki thought he might have lied, had the truth been negative.

“Of course you did, Anthony. You were perfect for me, as you always are.” He pulled his head up finally, and gave Anthony’s hand a firm squeeze before reaching for the car door handle. “Now inside. I want you naked and on the bed in five minutes. Understood?”

“Understood, Loki.” Anthony scurried into the house to complete his task.

At a much more sedate pace, to give his professor time, Loki got himself a glass of water before going upstairs. By the time he arrived in the bedroom, Anthony had followed his instructions exactly. He was lying naked in the middle of the bed, and Loki thought he looked more relaxed than he had ever seen him before. It was beautiful.

Shining brown eyes opened and turned to him when he sat down on the bed.

“Are you ready, Professor?” Loki asked him softly.

He smiled. “Yes, Loki. I think I am.”

 

*

 

It was inevitable that Christmas couldn't go as smoothly as dinner with Rhodes had. Luck that good simply couldn't hold out.

His mother was as amazing as always. She spent three days beforehand preparing the house, and she woke at the crack of dawn to start making food.

Loki was aware of the time because he was already awake when she came downstairs. He was sitting at the table drinking his second cup of coffee and eating sugar cookies.

Since he didn't much like sugar cookies, she gave him a funny look. "That bad?" she asked him, a trace of amusement in her voice.

He just sighed heavily and gave her a dirty look.

"Well if you're going to be in the kitchen, you're helping," she informed him in her you-will-not-question-me voice. "And you can tell me all about it."

She knew him all too well. He considered dodging the conversation and just helping her, but she was so good at listening and making his fears seem small and distant. It was another one of her maternal skills that he was grateful for. If not for her help he might have had a mental breakdown when he had learned of his adoption years earlier. As it was, all it had taken was a single soft-spoken, _‘we adopted you because we wanted you,’_ and everything had felt better.

"What if you don't like him?" It wasn't exactly what he would have chosen to say if he had thought it through, but he had always found that it was better not to edit himself when speaking with his mother. She could help him more when he was honest with her. Hell, he could help himself more if he were honest about his feelings.

She patted him on the shoulder and looked amused. "That's not going to happen, dear." Then she turned and started rifling through the fridge for ingredients, but continued talking. "You've always been my sensible boy, and you've never deemed anyone good enough to bring home before. That means he's different."

"Of course he is," he agreed. "But why would that automatically mean that you'll like him?"

"Because he's important to you, and I trust your judgement." Turning back, she thrust an armful of ingredients at him before continuing. "If he arrives on a motorcycle, wearing leather and covered with tattoos, I'll still give him the benefit of the doubt."

He made a face at the very thought, but then an image of his professor dressed in leather and riding a motorcycle came to him, and it seemed less disgusting.

"You really trust me that much?" He started sifting through the ingredients she'd given him, making vague piles of related items. "You'd be fine with me bringing home a Hell's Angel?"

Her nose curled a bit at the thought, but she nodded. "Yes. You already told me about the school situation. I assume you won't be taking another class with him."

"Definitely not," he smiled at the thought. "I don't need any more physics for my degree, and even if I did, Anthony wouldn't let me take another class with him."

Her expression when she turned back to him was triumphant. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. What happened can't be changed, but you're both sensible enough not to allow it to happen again."

Pushing the bag of flour over to her, he gave her his best puppy eyes. Despite the fact that he wasn't his brother, it usually seemed to work. "Are you making that cake? The red one?" He didn’t love sweets, but he made an exception for his mother’s cooking on Christmas.

“Of course, dear.” She threw him a bag of sugar. “But only if you help.”

*

By the time Anthony arrived, the cooking was more than half done. Loki had said any time after ten AM, so he’d taken to hovering near the front door soon after nine. His professor was prompt, after all.

The result was that he opened the door for Jane when she showed up. Loki tried not to be openly disappointed, but it obviously showed, because she grinned at him and said, “You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome, Loki.” Then, just as Loki was wondering if he should apologize or not, she added, “But don’t think I’m not going to hold you to that double date your brother wants us to go on.”

Loki rolled his eyes, deciding on _not_. “Don’t tell me he has you on that nonsense, too?”

“Oh, come on! I’m super excited to see ‘Stark the Shark’ in his natural habitat. Does he usually kill the waiter before or after dinner?” She seemed to be only half-joking, so Loki was grateful for his brother’s entrance on the scene a second later.

“Jane!” Thor practically yelled as he arrived at the door. Somehow he looked even larger than usual in his hideous red and white Christmas sweater. “I am so happy you have arrived!”

Loki caught Thor’s eye and motioned his head toward the living room in the universal gesture of _go the fuck away_ , and it only took a moment for the hint to take hold. Saying something about formally introducing Jane to his parents, Thor dragged her behind him to where Odin was sitting in front of the television watching some movie about an enormous Christmas elf making an idiot of himself.

A few moments later, the incredibly casual ‘formal’ introduction had been completed, and the three of them were all sitting on the couch watching the television.

Everything always seemed so easy for Thor. Maybe Loki was just bitter, but it seemed unfair. Thor brought home the literal girl next door. Of course Odin liked her; he’d known her for years, and she was every heteronormative father’s dream daughter-in-law for his enormous golden son.

Loki liked the idea of a comparison between Jane and Anthony less and less.

“Loki!” his mother’s voice came from the kitchen suddenly. “Come help with the turkey.”

She’d caught sight of him brooding, no doubt, and taken it upon herself to stop his internal whining. He was grateful as he yelled, “Coming, Mother!”

He had just turned from the door when he heard footsteps on the front walk. He turned and yanked the door open in time to find a rather surprised Anthony poised to knock, a bottle of wine in his free hand. All thoughts of Jane and irritation evaporated with one look at his professor.

Anthony bit his lip as he lowered his hand. “I know you said after ten, but—”

Loki decided to cut off any kind of self-recrimination for an imagined slight—showing up five minutes early was hardly a spanking offense, unless Anthony wanted it to be. He pulled Anthony in close and kissed him soundly.

He kissed him right there on the front doorstep, where all the nosy neighbors could see. He knew what the gossip around the block was going to be for the next month. Suddenly, everyone was going to have _always known about that Burison boy_ …

Strangely enough, the only thing that thought inspired was amusement. He had the understanding and acceptance of everyone in the world who was important to him. What difference did it make if the old woman across the street was going to think he was an abomination? In fact, when he saw her peeking through her curtains at his and Anthony’s little display of affection, he flashed her his brightest smile and winked.

“Should I ask?” Anthony questioned as Loki led him inside.

“Ask away.” Loki pulled the door closed quietly behind them, and started leading Anthony toward the kitchen. Frigga first, then the others. Her approval was the important thing.

He turned back to smile at Anthony again. “I’m just happy to see you.”

Anthony gave him a shy smile. For the first time since answering the door, Loki really looked at him. It was strange. He looked younger. He was dressed somewhat casually – no suit jacket or tie. Between that and the nervousness of his stance, he looked like a college boy coming home to meet his first serious girlfriend’s family.

That gave Loki a moment’s pause. It wasn’t even a question, he just hadn’t thought a lot about it. This _was_ the first time Anthony had been invited home to meet someone’s family.

They walked into the kitchen then, cutting Loki’s train of thought short when his mother caught sight of them.

Frigga’s whole face lit up. “You must be Anthony!” From her expression, one might have thought she was meeting the president.

Anthony, for his part, looked stunned. “Yes ma’am?”

She laughed at that, coming over to offer him her hand. When he slowly started to offer his own hand, she seemed to think better of it and pulled hers back. Before Anthony had time to be worried, she had pulled him into a tight hug, much to his bewilderment.

“ _You_ call me Frigga,” After a long moment she pulled back and continued. “Any man my baby deems worthy to bring into my house is a member of this family, and my family calls me Frigga.”

Anthony blinked repeatedly and seemed to have trouble finding his tongue. Loki couldn’t blame him. Mother was a force of nature.

After a moment, Anthony found his voice. “Yes ma’am. Err… Frigga.”

He awkwardly handed her the bottle of wine, and the two of them were momentarily sidetracked by a conversation about how it was the perfect wine to go with dinner. It wasn’t a surprise, really. Anthony knew wine. Loki had learned all that he knew about it from Frigga. So when Anthony had asked whether he should bring anything, Loki had told him to bring an impressive bottle of wine. He couldn’t give a damn less about the stuff, but it made the people he loved happy.

After too few moments of happy conversation between Anthony and Frigga, Thor came bounding into the kitchen, all hideous sweater and hopeful puppy face. “I knew I heard something!” he said, loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “You must be Professor Stark.”

The professor flinched at that, before nodding and holding his hand out to shake with Thor. “It’s Tony,” he said quietly.

Loki could see him internally praying that Thor would _not_ hug him as mother had.

“Tony, then!” Thor responded amiably, taking Anthony’s hand and shaking it with all his enthusiasm. “I am pleased to finally meet you, Tony. Loki has spoken quite a bit about you.”

Loki frowned at the lie. “I have not.”

“You mentioned him, brother. More than once.” Thor gave him a quelling look. “For you, that was practically teenage girl levels of gushing.”

Loki fought the urge to curl up in a ball and die. Fortunately, Anthony didn’t seem put off by Thor and his… _Thorness_.

It was completely surreal as Thor herded them out to the living room so that Anthony could be introduced to Odin and Jane. A tiny part of Loki had been expecting some sort of other-shoe-drop when Odin actually met the man his son was dating, but it was nothing like that. If anything, it seemed as though Odin had become _more_ understanding in the intervening weeks.

Odin took a moment to appraise Anthony, and was apparently satisfied. “It’s very nice to meet you, Tony. I was always afraid he was going to bring home some kind of hippie artist with dreadlocks, so you’re a pleasant surprise.”

What? What part of Loki’s personality had made Odin think a bizarre thing like that?

Anthony looked as surprised and confused by the statement as Loki was, but he covered it flawlessly. “Well I’m happy to help out. To be honest, I think my father would be rolling over in his grave if I’d become an artist.”

“Also a scientist, was he?” Odin asked, seeming genuinely interested.

Loki knew that somewhere in this was dangerous territory, and he wanted to nip the conversation in the bud. Anthony seemed to feel his tension, and he just twined their hands together tightly and pretended that there was no issue. “Yes, Sir. He had his own company back in the day. Stark Industries. Mostly big government contracts for weapons.”

Odin looked impressed, while Jane frowned slightly behind him. “But you don’t still own the company, Pro—” she began, only to be interrupted by Thor.

“Yes, Tony, I don’t recall Loki mentioning you owning a company. You teach, right?” Shockingly tricky for Thor, that. He was giving himself away by grinning like an idiot, obviously proud of himself, but Loki could forgive him. He was trying so hard.

Anthony swallowed hard. He took a minute before answering, then shrugged, seeming to come to some conclusion. “Yeah. I teach now. I did inherit the company when my parents died. I sold it.”

Jane still seemed less than satisfied. “Who would buy a weapon manufacturing company?”

“Someone who wanted to make money,” Odin responded, obviously somewhat amused with Jane’s naiveté. 

“A few dozen companies who wanted to expand their manufacturing capabilities,” Anthony told her matter-of-factly. “I broke the company up.”

Odin seemed surprised, but thankfully, kept his mouth shut.

“Well, wasn’t that lovely? I believe you were watching something about a man chewing used gum that he found in a public place.” Loki tightened his grip on Anthony’s hand. “And Anthony is an excellent cook, so we’re going to go help mother.”

Jane looked scandalized. “It’s Elf! Tell me you’ve seen it!”

Thor chuckled and put his arm around her. “Don’t ask Loki silly questions like that. The only answer you’re likely to get is ‘bah, humbug.’”

She continued to be horrified, insisting that Loki would enjoy the movie. Between himself and Thor, though, they managed to wrangle everyone back to where they should be. Jane, Thor and Odin watching horrible holiday movies, while Anthony and Loki helped Frigga cook. Okay, so Loki sat and watched while Frigga reluctantly allowed Anthony to help, reminding him once in a while that he was a guest and did not need to help.

Then she’d get so impressed with some skill he had that she’d be distracted from her righteous indignation for a while. Peeling apples, chopping onions, and whipping egg whites were all apparently very impressive to her.

Every now and then she turned to beam at Loki, once even mouthing ‘I told you so.’

Loki told himself it didn’t surprise him at all that they got along beautifully. They were the two most important people in his life. The two of them getting along was inevitable. That was why he’d slept so poorly and eaten too many cookies. Because he hadn’t been worried.

When all the preparation was done, Loki was hesitant to go into the living room. The movie had ended, but of course there was another on; one Loki remembered from his childhood involving a Claymation reindeer and an island of poorly made toys. He shuddered involuntarily at the notion of being forced to watch holiday movies.

Everyone seemed primed to settle in to do just that, and Loki was desperately searching for any excuse to take Anthony and escape to any room that did not contain his entire family.

He looked to Anthony, trying to use just his eyes to signal him to agree to a tour of the house or some such nonsense, when he saw the look in his professor’s eyes go from relaxed to horrified in the time it took to blink. Then he heard the words ‘Stark Industries’ come from the television behind him.

He tried to be subtle as he turned from Anthony to the television, but it felt a little like one of those movie scenes where everything slows down, and all the sound effects became exaggerated and dramatic. He wondered if perhaps Anthony was going to shout ‘noooooooo’ and leap for the television to try to keep people from seeing it.

It was just the local news, previewing the top stories of the day. The horror of Walmart being open on Christmas, bottom lines for companies around the country, and the arrest of a businessman Loki had never heard of before.

“—that the embezzlement took place over years, possibly throughout Stane’s tenure at Hammer Tech. Though not detailed in the statement made to the press, there is a list of other charges that include extortion and assault.”

The perky blonde woman on the screen delivered all of that flawlessly then paused, waiting for the anchors back in the studio to take over, and then the station slipped seamlessly into the next commercial.

Anthony’s entire body was rigid, and he was breathing in shallow pants that sounded like the precursor to hyperventilation. When Loki turned back to look at him, there was panic in his eyes. That wasn’t a surprise, but it was painful to look at.

They needed to escape Loki’s family, and they needed to do it right away.


	10. Security

Loki tore his eyes away from Anthony to look at his family, but found that they were involved in a quiet conversation about whether to change the channel to a different awful holiday movie. It seemed that they hadn’t even noticed the news report.

Why couldn’t Anthony have been so lucky?

Loki turned back to him. His eyes were still glued to the screen, though it had moved on to an adorable commercial about a child shoving cereal into her father’s work paraphernalia. Anthony’s complexion was ashen, and just looking at him made Loki a bit queasy.

If only everyone had missed the damned news update.

Standing abruptly, Loki turned to his family. “Anthony and I are going to my room.”

He almost made an excuse. His instinct was to give them some reason that didn’t involve a quickie in his childhood bed. In the end, though, it wasn’t important. They would manage to live with whatever they thought.

Anthony needed him more than they did.

Instead of waiting for a response, Loki grabbed Anthony’s wrist and dragged him upstairs toward his bedroom. Thor said something about not staying up there all day, but Loki didn’t even pay enough attention to know if the comment had been directed at him. Anthony’s wrist was lifeless in his hand, as though his spirit had vacated, leaving behind a life sized blow-up doll.

When they got to the room, Loki pulled Anthony in and locked the door behind them.

Anthony’s head fell against Loki’s chest. He was obviously trying to take in great gasps of air, but his breath kept hitching and expelling too quickly. His whole body was trembling.

“Thank you,” he mumbled against Loki’s chest. “Worst possible timing for that. Sorry for—”

“No,” Loki responded before Anthony even finished the sentence. “I don’t accept your apology. You’ve done nothing wrong. I just thought you didn’t need to be with my family while dealing with… whatever that was.”

He was not going to press. He was going to be a good boyfriend.

“He ran the company after my parents died. Probably robbed me blind.” Anthony said bluntly. He pulled his face away from Loki’s chest and looked up. His red-rimmed eyes shone with unshed tears, but there were no hysterics, no dramatic exclamations. “He’s why I broke the company up and sold it.”

“An employee?” Loki tried to inquire subtly, and knew he failed utterly.

Fortunately, Anthony looked slightly amused at the awkwardness, and kept going. “We—he and I—we were together. Maybe that’s the wrong word, but it’s the best one I have.”

Loki locked his arms around Anthony’s back and tugged him toward the bed, pulling them both down to tangle together across its surface. To say that Anthony didn’t fight back was an understatement. He was as pliable as a Ken doll, letting Loki position him without complaint.

“That sounds unpleasant,” Loki prompted, hoping to get more information without acting like he was entitled to it.

His Anthony sighed and nodded. He tucked his head back down into Loki’s chest. His whole body drew in toward that single point of contact, making itself smaller and trying to burrow into Loki’s body.

He obviously found it too difficult to look Loki in the eye and speak of it at the same time.

“It was bad,” He began, and for a moment Loki thought he meant to let it drop with just that. It was a surprise when he continued, particularly because his voice had strengthened. He turned his head to press his cheek against Loki—so that he could speak more effectively without losing a single square inch of contact. “He was nothing like you. I was a kid, and I was terrified, and I didn’t know what to do. Rhodey helped me get out. I ran. I destroyed my father’s company to get away.”

Anthony spoke in choppy bursts, like blood gushing from an arterial wound. Like if he didn’t expel it all, it would poison him.

“I couldn’t even think about a relationship for a long time. Then I dated... the intellectually challenged. They were easier, and I didn’t have to wonder if they were trying to kill me for my money.”

He sniffled a bit at that, but it was the closest he had come to actual tears. Loki wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. Weren’t tears supposed to be cleansing or something like that?

“Then suddenly there’s you,” Anthony summed up, rubbing his cheek back and forth across Loki’s chest. It reminded Loki of a cat marking its possessions. “And you were nothing like anyone else, ever.”

Chuckling in response, Loki nodded. “Believe it or not, I hear that a lot. The context usually isn’t quite so kind, though.”

“Then none of them know you at all,” Anthony sulked like a child told that his favorite character was the villain. “Because you’re not just unique. You’re freaking awesome, too.”

“I admit, I did worry. After all, Stalin was unique. It doesn’t mean I want to be anything like him.” Loki continued running his fingers through Anthony’s hair in a gesture that seemed to calm them both. “I am trying to be what you need, though, Anthony.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Loki,” Anthony took his head off Loki’s chest so that he could meet his eyes while speaking. The fabric of the shirt was wet and clung to his cheek, slowly peeling back as he pulled away. It seemed he had been crying after all. “You don’t have to try to be anything. You’re already what I need. I never knew it, but you’re exactly what I needed.”

Loki’s chest contracted, or his heart expanded—he couldn’t say exactly, just that suddenly his chest felt too tight, and he couldn’t quite breathe.

Anthony thought he was good, that he was what he needed.

He cradled Anthony’s face between his hands and looked into his eyes. “You’re what I need too, Anthony.” A little delicacy was required here, to say what he needed to say without saying the thing that would send Anthony running. “I’ve never been happier than when we spend time together.”

The tiny shy smile on Anthony’s face was like a candle in a dark room. When he averted his eyes and bit his lip, Loki knew he was going to ask for something. Before having any idea what that something was, Loki knew he’d give it. Even if it wasn’t in his power to give.

“Could we… I mean, um, later—could we go home and…?” Anthony had never been so tentative in asking for what he needed. Then again, Anthony almost never asked for anything, particularly not when he was feeling _off_.

“We can go home and do anything you want,” Loki granted. “As soon as dinner is finished, if you can wait that long.”

Tony looked at him in wonder. “If I said I couldn’t, you’d really…”

“Yes.”

At the simple admission, Anthony swooped up and pressed his lips against Loki’s. A tiny bit surprised, Loki let himself be pushed, and ended up lying on his back with Anthony straddling him.

Anthony looked surprised himself for a moment, but then he gave a wicked little grin. “Or maybe I’ll just take what I want now,” Anthony said slyly.

There was a nervousness in his eyes bordering on outright fear, and Loki wanted it gone. So he smiled lazily, stretching his arms above his head. “Do you think you can? I think I’d like to see that.”

Anthony’s breath gusted out all at once, and the shocked look on his face was something Loki wanted to keep forever.

Anthony didn’t need another push. He fell upon Loki with the ferocity of a starving man on the feast being prepared just downstairs. His hands slid up Loki’s arms and pinned them firmly into place. Loki thought that if he wanted to do so, Anthony could actually restrain him, given those rather impressive biceps. A shiver of delight ran through him.

After kissing a path up Loki’s neck, he paused a moment with their faces just a few inches apart. “You’d really let me,” he whispered against Loki’s lips. “Just because I’m bothered?”

“Just because I want you. However you want to give yourself to me.” Loki pressed his hardening cock up into Anthony. “I want you, Anthony. Not the idea of you.”

The moisture was back in Anthony’s eyes in an instant. He tucked his face into the indentation between Loki’s head and shoulder. That was when Loki figured it out. He’d taken enough psychology classes for his degree; he’d seen it before. Maybe another time, Anthony would want to hold Loki down and have his way. In the moment, though, Anthony needed sanctuary. He needed to feel safe, and loved, and _secure_.

So Loki rolled him onto his back once more, and with a muttered “ _don’t move,”_ he went to his closet. It only took him a moment to find his ties, and expertly pluck every single one that Thor had given him from their hangers. It wasn’t that Loki didn’t love his brother, but he didn’t foresee a time he would ever need to wear a tie with cartoon characters on it.

He tossed the ties on the bed next to Anthony and gave a sharp, “on your stomach,” as he reached into the nightstand for the tiny bottle of lube he kept there.

Anthony complied instantly. Loki took advantage of his compliance to strip him of his trousers and underwear. As much as he wanted to strip him completely and kiss every inch of him, he doubted they had time for that. He needed to give Anthony what he could in the time they had. As swiftly as possible, he tied Anthony to the posts of his bed with the ties.

He should thank Thor for them, really. He’d never imagined they would be so useful.

Running his hands up Anthony’s bare legs, he smiled at the little whimper beneath him. “Something you need, Professor Mine?”

“This, Loki. Just this. But you knew that.” He cried out softly and arched up into Loki’s hand when one lube-slicked finger tentatively breached him. “Please, Loki.”

"You don’t have to ask, my sweet professor.” Loki crouched over Anthony’s prone form, working him open with one hand, and rubbing comforting circles on his lower back with the other. “You don’t have to do anything but let me take care of you.”

The tension in Anthony’s back was more than Loki had ever felt there before, but it was slowly releasing. “Please, Loki, talk to me? I—I need to hear you. _You_. Your voice.”

“Of course, Sweet,” he agreed. “Me. Just me, and always me.”

He wished he had more time. He wanted to spend an hour working his professor open, and another just slowly fucking him while whispering his name. It was only a matter of time before someone came to the door, though, and nothing could ruin a mood like Thor.

So he finished prepping quickly, and covered Anthony’s form with his own, nudging the head of his cock into position. Anthony wanted words, though, so words he would have.

“So good, Anthony,” he murmured as he pressed in. “Perfect. You’ve been such a good boy for me.”

Beneath him, Anthony moaned softly, obviously trying to hold his noise in. Sensible. Part of Loki wanted him even louder than usual, but he supposed that would be out of line for family Christmas.

“How did I get so lucky, hm?” he asked no one in particular, fulfilling Anthony’s request for words. He kept his strokes slow and measured, pressing all the way into Anthony, and then pulling out almost completely before pushing in again. “What did I do to earn my perfect little professor moaning and writhing prettily under me?”

“Loki…” Anthony whispered beneath him, arching up into the culmination of a thrust. “You—you don’t have to—”

Sliding a hand into Anthony’s hair, Loki pulled his head back, showing off the beautiful bronzed bend of his neck. “I don’t have to do anything, Anthony. I believe we’ve already acknowledged that neither of us _has_ to do anything.”

He leaned forward to nibble the shell of Anthony’s ear lightly, eliciting a gasp. “I meant that—”

“I know what you meant, Anthony. You don’t know how to deal with me telling you that you’re perfect. That you’re beautiful, and good, and everything I want.” Seated fully inside Anthony, he ground down, pressing as deep inside as he could. “But since all of those things are true, you’re going to have to learn to live with them.”

Anthony had apparently lost the power of speech, and just moaned in response. He knew from experience that his professor was getting enough friction on his cock to come in this position, he just needed to make his brain do the hard work.

“Don’t worry, though, _Anthony Mine_ ,” he purred. “You’ll have all the time you need to get used to being my perfect boy. And I’ll be happy to fuck you as often as you need to prove it to you.”

Punctuating the last of his words with a few sharp thrusts that pushed Anthony hard into the bed, he felt the body beneath him stiffen, and heard the ecstatic moan of release. With the confirmation of Anthony going limp in his arms, Loki let go, pounding hard into Anthony for a moment and finding his own release.

They lay there together for a few moments, content to simply be as they were. Then Loki heard raucous laughter from downstairs, surely at some new stupid holiday movie. It broke the spell, though, as being reminded that one’s family was mere yards away would.

He gently pulled out, and started untying Anthony. He almost didn’t hear Anthony’s words, with his face still pressed into the pillow. “D’ya have a plug?”

His breath caught. “Anthony…”

“Want it. Please?”

“Yes, Anthony,” Loki almost immediately relented. There was a note of something in Anthony’s voice that told him it wasn’t a sexual request. There was something in the intimacy that Anthony wanted, and Loki would give it to him.

Fortunately, he’s just bought a brand new plug anyway. Admittedly, he’d had a different plan for it involving Anthony and a public place, but his professor’s needs came before any games.

Just a few minutes later, the mess was cleaned up, everyone was dressed, and Anthony was plugged up with Loki’s come inside him. Sure enough, he seemed almost as steady as he had when he’d arrived.

“Thank you, Loki,” he whispered, leaning up into Loki and pressing their cheeks together. “Need to feel you right now.”

Loki sat down next to him on the bed and wrapped an arm around him, squeezing him tight. “Anything you ever need from me, Anthony, you just have to tell me.”

That, of course, was when the doorknob rattled, followed almost immediately by Thor’s voice booming, “Loki? Why is the door locked?”

Anthony burst into laughter while Loki sighed in irritation, stomping over and flinging the door open. “So that you wouldn’t wander in like you just tried to, you oaf.”

Thor looked suspiciously between the two of them for a moment, taking in the fact that they were both fully dressed, and that Loki’s hair was as perfect as ever. He looked almost disappointed to realize that he hadn’t caught them making out.

“Mother sent me,” he intoned solemnly, “to tell you that dinner is served.”

“And you couldn’t have done that through the door?” Loki rolled his eyes. Thor was so predictable. At least he had the good grace to blush at being caught in a half-truth.

“No,” he admitted. “I just wanted to see why you were hiding out in your bedroom instead of watching ‘ _It’s a Wonderful Life_ ’ with us.”

Loki began to worry that his eyes were going to get stuck rolled back into his head. “Because that sounds like the opposite of my idea of a good time, whereas spending time with my boyfriend is not.”

Oddly enough, that seemed to satisfy Thor. He nodded in understanding. Jane chose that moment to come up behind Thor and ask, “Hey, is everything okay?”

“Fine, why do you ask?” Loki smiled sweetly at her. Okay, not really, but he tried. Kind of.

“I dunno, Professor—Mr.—”

“Tony,” Anthony interjected from his spot on the bed, much to Loki’s disdain. He hated that nickname. But if it was truly what Anthony wanted people calling him, Loki supposed he could live with it. From other people.

“Tony,” Jane confirmed. “Tony seemed a little bothered.”

“I believe that Thor said dinner was to be served,” Loki unashamedly changed the subject.

“And everything is fine,” Anthony added gamely.

As the four of them made their way down the stairs, Loki caught Jane making sad cow eyes at Anthony and he started to say something snarky, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Anthony was looking at him. “It’s okay. It’s not like I was subtle,” he said loudly enough to be heard by all present.

Thor and Jane immediately looked at him curiously.

“That guy on the news. S-Stane. He worked for me, for my father, when I was a kid.” Anthony explained.

He seemed to struggle a bit with the words, but not nearly as much as Loki would have expected. He realized that this was the mask Anthony showed everyone. This was his ‘it isn’t really important to me’ face, and it seemed to strengthen with each second they were in the company of others.

Jane didn’t look satisfied, though. “So why does that bother you?”

“That a dude who ran my father’s company was arrested for embezzlement?” Tony asked her in a tone that asked if she’d been hit on the head.

Thor nodded. “It seems likely that he did the same to your family.”

“Probably,” Anthony agreed. “Not much to do about it now, though. And it’s not like the money is important to me. I have everything I could ever need.”

It was surreal, the way he had slipped into a character. He resembled Anthony, certainly, and he seemed to share his past, but he was definitely not Anthony. If that was what he needed to be comfortable, though, Loki was not going to try to take it away.

He did, however, reach out to palm that gorgeous ass, making sure to catch on the edge of the plug. He didn’t want Anthony to go forgetting everything about who and where he was. A secretive little smile crossed those full lips, and Anthony gave him a sidelong glance that said he hadn’t forgotten Loki’s promise of _later_.

He had half wondered if Anthony had already gotten what he wanted, and was done for the day. It seemed not.

Family dinner was oddly domestic. Frigga and Odin asked some superficial questions about Jane and Anthony; Frigga tried to keep it equal, even though it was obvious that she wanted to ask Anthony more questions.

How could she not? She’d known Jane since the girl was in diapers, and even if she hadn’t, Anthony was much more interesting.

It was a little surreal, watching Anthony dive into this strange persona. It wasn’t quite the way he was in class, all impersonal and snarky. It wasn’t joking and irreverent the way he was with people he knew, like Rhodes or the waitress. He was a bit reserved, perfectly mannered, and generally every parent’s dream son-in-law.

Odin seemed pleased. “You’ll have to come back for dinner sometime when we’re not having a family holiday, Tony,” he said halfway through dinner, just as Loki was passing the butter to Jane.

The butter didn’t quite hit the table; Jane had quick reflexes.

Smiling placidly, Anthony nodded to Odin. “I would love to, Mr. Burison.”

“Oh please,” Frigga interrupted. “He’s Odin. You’re practically family.”

Anthony’s eyes went a little wide at that, and his lips parted silently.

Loki had never been a religious man, but he promised to any god that existed that he would offer all the blood sacrifices they demanded, if only his family would not say something stupid that scared Anthony off.

“It’s true,” Odin just _had_ to interject. “Loki’s never brought anyone home before. I didn’t even know he was gay until he told us he was dating you.” He shot Loki a slightly accusatory look, but it held no heat. “So you two must be serious.”

Loki could see the moment Anthony’s mask broke, and felt the adrenaline hit his veins. Like his body thought it was going to have to chase Anthony down and force him to stay.

Instead, Anthony smiled softly. “I can’t speak for Loki, Odin, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more serious.”

Thor, Frigga, and Jane all let out a sigh, like they were watching some obnoxious Nicholas Sparks book play out right in front of them.

“Excellent,” Loki decided to put a stop to the whole conversation. “Now that we’re all aware of the seriousness of things, why don’t we just eat?”

“Indeed,” Thor said loudly. “Mother and Loki have provided a fine meal for us all.”

Loki sighed in relief when everyone amiably went back to eating. He felt Anthony’s hand slip over his thigh and squeeze lightly. They shared a look that was reassuring on both ends, and went back to eating. Thor had been right, it was an excellent meal.


	11. The Meaning of Consent

Why had Loki let Natasha talk him into a double date?

He loved her, he really did, but dinner with Natasha and Clint Barton was a terrible idea. How had two people as alike as he and his best friend ended up with significant others as incredibly different as Anthony and Clint?

He and Anthony arrived first, of course. It wasn’t that Natasha tended to be late, it was just that Loki was compulsively early. Usually their schedules matched up pretty well, but usually they were meeting each other, and neither was responsible for bringing along another person.

So basically, Loki was blaming Barton.

He and Anthony were seated and had already ordered drinks when they finally arrived. Loki checked his watch automatically, and when he looked back up, he found Natasha watching the gesture.

“Yes, we are late,” she nodded, then looked back to Clint and pointed to a chair. He was blushing already, and slid into the chair with his eyes down. “It seems that we absolutely had to finish playing a video game.”

“There was no save point, Ta—” Clint started to protest, then caught sight of the look on her face and shut up.

“It seems that Loki’s boyfriend had no such issues,” she answered as she sat down next to Loki. “Sorry. We’re having a bad day. I should have just rescheduled.”

Clint just pouted from his seat.

Loki, feeling oddly magnanimous, shrugged. “We all have off days. I’m sure everything will be fine. Anthony, you’ve met Clint before, of course.”

The two of them looked each other over for a moment, then nodded and shook hands. “Tasha says I should apologize for screwing around in your class.”

“Apology accepted,” Anthony immediately acknowledged. “You’re not even close to the worst student I’ve ever had, and I know not everyone’s suited to physics.”

Clint looked surprised, but brought out what seemed to be a genuine smile. “Thanks, man.”

“Anthony,” Natasha corrected.

Clint cringed for a moment, but responded appropriately. “Anthony.” He looked over at Loki, as if waiting to be mocked.

Strangely, and possibly for the first time in their acquaintance, Loki felt no urge to mock Clint. If anything, he felt bad for him. Being in the doghouse couldn’t be any fun. He and Anthony hadn’t had similar issues, but that was mostly because Anthony was still carefully measuring every move in an attempt to _not_ irritate Loki.

Sometimes that was annoying in itself, but Loki couldn’t bring himself to be truly upset. Anthony was trying to protect himself. Who could be angry with him for not wanting to be hurt again?

It was just the idea that Anthony believed Loki capable of ever being the abuser hurt a little bit. He wasn’t deliberately making that implication, but sometimes it felt that way.

“So how did your fall semester end up, Clint?” Anthony asked, obviously trying to break the tension.

Clint turned to look at him, surprised again. “Um, good. I passed everything, and you know what they say, Cs get degrees.” Natasha’s eyes narrowed, and Loki wondered if the comment had been intended to annoy her.

Anthony actually chuckled. “I knew a guy at MIT who used to say that. He’s a Fortune 500 CEO now, so I guess it works.”

For a moment, Clint seemed to consider that. Then he shook his head. “Nope, it’s the Olympics or nothing for me. I’d be no good at running a company.”

“Not enough save points?” Anthony asked, eyebrow up.

“Exactly!” he exclaimed, looking at Natasha. “See? He totally gets it.”

Suddenly, the evening didn’t look so bleak.

Clint and Anthony bonded over everything from video games, which was surreal for Loki, to how to build an arrow that got maximum lift and distance while remaining on target, which was… also surreal for Loki. Fortunately, he knew he wasn’t alone because Natasha looked as flabbergasted as he felt.

Conversation slowed when dinner was brought to the table, but things continued to go more smoothly than Loki could have ever hoped.

In the middle of eating their entrees, something changed in Anthony. Loki felt it immediately. He stiffened, sat up straighter, and stared at his chicken as though it was doing something offensive. Loki squeezed his leg and tried to catch his eye, but was given only a small strained smile, which was not at all reassuring.

Anthony flagged down the waitress and ordered another drink. Loki didn’t like it, but Anthony had never shown any propensity for drinking to excess, so he let it pass.

Ten minutes later, the second drink was gone, and Anthony mumbled something about going to get another before standing and hurrying toward the bar.

“Is everything okay, Loki?” Natasha’s concern was evident in her voice.

Clint, surprisingly alert, made a subtle motion with his head toward a man walking by the table. “It’s that guy.”

Natasha raised a brow and waited for more information.

“He, um, Anthony saw him, and suddenly tensed up.” Clint frowned. “Look, I don’t wanna make any trouble for anybody—”

“You aren’t, Clint,” Loki assured him. “Did you notice anything else?”

“Just that the asshole looked him over like he was a prime cut of meat.” Clint curled up his nose in disgust. “Seriously, who acts like that?”

Loki nodded and rose from the table. “Well then, I believe I have some business to attend. I’ll be back.”

He turned and headed toward the bar. Had Anthony intended to speak to the man? Or more? Was he drinking because he was uncomfortable?

When he arrived in the next room, his stomach turned over. The two of them were facing each other, standing next to the long dark wood bar. Anthony’s back was pushed against the side of a red leather-covered barstool. The man was pressing himself toward Anthony, one hand wrapped around his waist and the other trying to force its way down the front of his pants.

Loki’s body went cold, but hot rage rose up in his head. It made his cheeks flush bright red and blood rush loudly in his ears.

He stalked over toward the bar, and as he drew near he heard the man’s voice. “…you sitting next to that little blonde weenie. You honestly think he’s man enough for you, Tony? Probably can’t even hold you down the way you like…”

“Please, I’m not—” Anthony tried to speak, but was cut off as the man tried to kiss him. Anthony tried to turn his head to the side, but he didn’t move away.

What was he thinking? Did he want this? Did he want it to stop? When he turned his head, his eyes found Loki and went round in shock and horror. “Loki,” he choked out.

“You’re not Loki?” the man asked, clearly amused. “Glad to hear it.” It was then that Loki recognized the type. Tall, muscular, and not terribly bright: the kind of man that Anthony had involved himself with before Loki.

An ex, then.

“Why don’t you introduce me to your friend, Anthony?” he asked in the most conversational tone he could muster.

Finally, the man understood that something had changed. He turned to look at Loki appraisingly.

“L-Loki, this is, is…” Anthony turned his to look at the man and then back at Loki. His eyes were so wide that Loki could see the whites all around, and he was breathing too heavily. “Ben. Sir, I—”

“Go back to the table, Anthony,” Loki ordered. “Unless you’d prefer to go with… _Ben_.” He said the name in the tone one use to discuss a burst sewage pipe in one’s basement. And that was exactly what Ben was to him. It was a necessary evil that Anthony had ex-lovers, but having them invade his relationship was unacceptable. Did Anthony want the buffoon? The thought was devastating.

“No!” Finally finding his courage, Anthony shoved the man away from him and rushed to Loki’s side. “Please, Sir, I didn’t want-I just couldn’t think, and I didn’t—”

Ah. Loki put a finger to his love’s lips, stilling them. Anthony hadn’t known how to say no. The pain in Loki’s gut was replaced with more white hot fury. Anyone who had slept with Anthony should surely know his tells, know when he wanted out. Loki, despite his fears otherwise, had learned them rather quickly.

“Wait, the scrawny dude is your date? Man, Tony, your standards have... changed.” The brute’s voice stopped Loki’s internal monologue long enough to remember where he was and what he needed to do.

He looked Anthony in the eye, and put a firm hand on the spot where his shoulder met his neck. “Anthony. This is the second time I am telling you. Go. Back. To. The. Table.”

The order and its implicit threat seemed to break through Anthony’s panic, and he took a deeper breath, then responded. “Yes, Loki.”

Tucking his head down, he waited for Loki to loose his shoulder and immediately left the room.

When Loki turned back to him, _Ben_ was leaning casually against the bar. He looked vaguely offended. “How the hell hard do you beat the kid? Never jumped that fast for me.”

The rage was becoming a tangible thing, pressing against the back of Loki’s face, telling him to leap at the bastard and claw him apart. Odin had insisted on years of self-defense classes when Loki was a child, so he had little doubt that he could take the man down, despite (or perhaps because of) his excess muscle mass. Getting arrested had never been one of his life goals, however, so he tamped it down as well as he could.

“What Anthony does is none of your business,” he began, trying to force calm into his tone. “What I do is none of your business. But if I find you attempting to force yourself on anyone again, I will see to it that you never have any kind of sex in the future.”

“Oooh, impressive words from the scrawny dude,” Ben mocked. “You really think you could take me, little man?”

Forcibly loosening his fists, Loki smiled nastily at him. “I don’t know. Whose orders did Anthony choose to follow, you boor?”

Apparently at least slightly smarter than he looked, the man narrowed his eyes. “But that’s part of the game, isn’t it? He lets you.”

“Funny, a moment ago you seemed to be ignoring that fact.”

Ben shrugged infuriatingly. “He didn’t say no.”

And that was it.

Taking the two steps necessary to reach the man, Loki seized his wrist and bent it backward and up. In a fraction of a second, Ben was bent over with his arm twisted in the air behind him. “Ow! Fuck man, stop that!”

People turned to look, and a nervous waitress slowly started toward them, obviously not wanting to interfere.

Loki smiled at her. “No need to worry my dear, this will just take a moment.” Turning back to the whimpering man, he spoke loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, enunciating each word like an English teacher. “Consent requires the word ‘yes’, you Neanderthal. Clothes, time of day, blood alcohol level, consciousness, and a lack of ‘no’ mean _nothing_ , unless you are also given explicit permission. Do you understand?”

“Lemme go, asshole!” Ben tried to squirm away, but it only put more pressure on the joints Loki was twisting.

Loki sighed, put upon. “I believe I asked you a question. Do. You. Understand?”

Ben looked up at the waitress for help, but she was giving him a glare.

“Yes! Fine, sonofabitch, I understand.”

Loki let go, and Ben collapsed over the closest stool. As he turned to go back to his table, he heard the waitress tell the other man, “don’t worry about getting up. I’ll just get your check, and you can leave.”

He tried to tuck his anger away as he went back to the table. It wasn’t Anthony’s fault. Loki wished he had been more vocal in his wishes, yes, but that in no way made anything that had happened Anthony’s fault.

It needed correcting, though.

What if Loki wasn’t there the next time it happened? What if Anthony allowed some monster to rape him just because he wasn’t comfortable saying no? Oh gods, Loki’s stomach turned at the realization: had it happened before?

He sat down heavily, and it took a moment before he realized Natasha had her hand on his. Focusing on the scene in front of him was even worse than thinking about the possibilities.

Natasha looked worried, Clint nervous, and Anthony looked positively stricken. He was sitting straight up in his chair, shoulders squared, staring blankly ahead.

“Everything okay, Loki?” Natasha asked him, using the same tone she used that time in the eighth grade, when he’d found Thor reading his diary. The tone that said _violence is not currently the answer, but I will help you kill someone if necessary_.

“No,” he answered bluntly. “It is not.”

Anthony gave a full body shudder.

Loki sighed. “I am sorry to cut the evening short, but I believe that Anthony and I need to go.”

He reached for his wallet, but Natasha took his hand again, shaking her head. “On me.” She glanced at Anthony, and then back at Loki meaningfully. “You can pay next time the four of us go out together, sometime soon, okay?”

Loki managed a smile for her. “Of course, Natasha. I will do that. Thank you.”

With that, he stood and looked to Anthony. “Time to go.”

As Anthony stood, still not looking at Loki, Clint grabbed his hand. “Nice you re-meet you, Anthony. See you again soon.”

Anthony finally focused on that. Looking at Clint, he managed a weak smile and a soft response. “I hope so, Clint. It was good to re-meet you too.” Without looking her in the eye, he ducked his head in Natasha’s direction. “Miss Romanova.”

Placing an arm firmly around Anthony’s waist, Loki led him out of the restaurant. He didn’t remove the arm until the valet had retrieved the car, and Loki had walked Anthony to the passenger side of the car. Normally he wouldn’t have dreamed of taking that control, of not letting Anthony drive them home in his own car. Loki needed the Zen peace that driving gave, though. He needed to calm down before they got home and had to deal with what had happened.

He supposed he could have tried to reassure Anthony on the drive, but he didn’t think it would go well. He needed time and distance to cool off. He needed to not bring his anger into either their relationship, or more importantly, the bedroom.

Couples fought sometimes, Loki knew that. It was normal and perfectly healthy. In a relationship like theirs, though, he felt like he needed a finer control. He was angry, but he was not angry with Anthony. He didn’t want to take his anger out on Anthony.

But he needed to correct Anthony’s behavior. He needed to have faith that if such a thing happened when he wasn’t around, Anthony would remember his lesson and not allow himself to be manhandled.

Loki shuddered as he pushed the car into gear. From the corner of his eye, he saw Anthony turn to look at him. He didn’t even need to look straight at him to know that he was biting his lip.

“We’ll discuss it at home, Anthony. It will be fine.” He kept his voice soft. He was not going to talk about it in the car, but he didn’t want his poor professor to spend twenty minutes in the car thinking that he was about to be unceremoniously dumped.

“Yes, Si-Loki,” Anthony whispered.

Loki, indeed.

He had to punish Anthony for being attacked. It was the ultimate test of whether he could be what Anthony needed, he supposed. All he wanted was to gather Anthony into his arms and hold him forever.

After, he reminded himself. He could do that after. He was increasingly growing to love the aftercare part of their relationship. It allowed him to give in to his more affectionate instincts wholeheartedly.

The drive was silent but for the purring of the Audi’s engine. Loki had driven Anthony’s car before, and it was a relaxing experience.

When they pulled up in front of the house, neither of them immediately moved or spoke.

Loki finally broke the silence. “I want you naked and kneeling on the end of your bed in three minutes, Anthony. Go.”

There was a relieved sigh, and Anthony was out of the car and into the house like a shot.

Loki sat there for another moment, breathing deeply. He knew what he had to do. It was important that he do it right; more important than it had ever been before.

Anthony had seen him through the learning curve. He knew all the basics. They had explored them together, practiced them together. This was the moment he truly put it into practice, though, wasn’t it? Anthony had not sought out a punishment, but Loki was about to deliver one.

Because some testosterone addled bastard had assaulted Anthony in a public place.

All the stress he’d been unknowingly holding in since that first spanking unraveled in his brain. He wasn’t going to punish Anthony for Ben’s actions. He was going to punish Anthony because of Anthony’s actions, and because that was the way their relationship worked. He was going to do it for himself, so that he would be confident that there would be no reoccurrence. He was going to do it so Anthony would know that Loki followed through with his own rules. He was going to do it so Anthony would know that Loki wanted him safe, first and always.

It wasn’t about pissing on his territory like some alpha dog, or hurting Anthony for a failing.

It was just the next step to make everything right again. To calm his jangled nerves and Anthony’s fears. He was going to do it because it was what they did.

Serenity descended over him as he headed into the house.

His perfect Anthony was kneeling naked on the end of the bed, just as Loki had ordered. He hadn’t had Loki’s moment of Zen, though. He didn’t know yet.

Loki had left his shoes and socks at the front door, as always. So he padded across the floor in his bare feet, rolling his sleeves up as he went. He took Anthony’s chin in hand and turned his face up into the light. Those beautiful expressive eyes were almost amber in the lamplight, the pupils starting to dilate in some combination of fear and lust.

“Do you know why we’re here, Anthony?” he prompted more than asked, hoping that Anthony knew the answer.

His professor swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. His shoulders were tight with tension, but there was hope in his eyes as he said, “I let Ben put his hands on me, Si-Loki.”

Loki tried to keep his voice completely neutral despite the irritation that zinged through him when he asked the next question. “Did you want his hands on you, my sweet professor?”

“No!” Anthony’s eyes flew to his, practically begging Loki to accept the words as fact. “Loki. No, Loki, I did _not_ want him to touch me. Ple—”

Loki put his finger on those beautiful full lips, stilling them. “You never need to ask my trust, Anthony. If you tell me that you did not want his hands on you, I believe that you did not. Telling _me_ that _now_ does little good, though, don’t you think?”

Thoughts zoomed across Anthony’s expression: relief, pleasure, concern, curiosity, and through it all, that usual thread of fear. When he finally answered, it was an obvious hedge. “I’m sorry, Loki.”

Loki couldn’t help a smile at that. “It isn’t my intention to drag this out, Anthony. All I want is for you to remember what happened in the future, and not allow it to happen again.”

Anthony started to open his mouth; to make his promise, no doubt. Loki shook his head, though, and swept his fingers across Anthony’s cheek.

“If you wanted another man instead of me—ah, ah!” Loki replaced the fingers over his lover’s lips when they parted to deny the statement. “That would pain me. But it would not be my place to correct such a behavior.”

For the first time in their relationship, Anthony refused to follow Loki’s implicit demand completely, shaking his head vehemently, protesting the idea that he wanted another man.

“That isn’t what this is about,” he said, smiling at the tiny rebellion. “This is about what you did _not_ want. And more importantly, about the fact that instead of doing something about it, you allowed that creature to assault you.”

Wrapping one hand around the back of Anthony’s neck, he urged him up a few inches so that their faces were at the same level.

“After you left, he expressed a complete disinterest in your consent, Anthony. I know that I cannot trust others to care about your wishes. I need to be able to trust _you_ to care.” Leaning forward, he pressed his lips softly against Anthony’s.

When he pulled away, Anthony was staring at him in surprise. He wasn’t sure whether he was happy to break his beautiful professor’s expectations, or heartbroken that his expectations had been so poor to begin with.

“I need to know that you are safe,” he continued. “Always. I need to have faith that you can and will protect yourself from filth like that. Am I understood?”

Anthony nodded, but the speed of his motion made it look like he was underwater or in a dream. Time to make sure he’d never forget his lesson.

“I think we’ll do this the old fashioned way, then,” Loki broke off, motioning for Anthony to move aside.

When Anthony moved, Loki drew himself up onto the end of the bed, almost far enough that he couldn’t bend his knees over the edge. It left plenty of room to lie Anthony across him. Or rather, as he motioned his wishes, for Anthony to lie himself across Loki’s knee.

He spent a moment running his hands over all the fine smooth skin revealed when Anthony lay face-down on his lap. The first smack was something of a surprise to both of them. His hand stung, and Anthony yelped—something he rarely did.

“Tell me, Anthony Mine.” Loki said calmly as he placed another sharp smack across Anthony’s backside, “what did you do to earn this spanking?”

“I—I didn’t say no w—when I wanted to, Loki.” Anthony’s voice was breathy, broken with gasps for air.

It was perfect, so Loki decided to press. “Is that all?” Another slap filled the air, and Anthony’s body jerked on his lap.

Anthony paused for a moment, obviously searching his memory.

Undeterred by the pause, Loki continued laying down heavy blows across the tender, reddening skin. For one of the first times in their relationship, Loki felt no shame whatever for the fact that his cock was hardening during a ‘scene’. Anthony was practically ready to go off, fully erect and rubbing against Loki’s thigh with every jolt, and Loki had no concern that he was hurting his love.

After a moment and a half dozen whacks, Anthony shook his head. “That’s it, Loki. Ah! I sh—should have said no. Made—made him stop, or gotten someone else to.”

Loki let his hand rest on the warm pink skin of Anthony’s ass. “Very good,” he said proudly. “Now, are we finished, or do you need more to make sure we drive the point home?”

“Mmmmmh… Loki, drive the point home. _Please_.” The desperation in Anthony’s voice had melted into lust completely. There wasn’t a bit of fear or tension in his voice or the lines of his body.

Loki grinned. “Since _my professor_ asks so sweetly, how could I refuse?”

Slightly reducing the pressure of the blows, Loki changed to a regular rhythm instead of the random smacks that kept Anthony’s attention on the matter at hand. A familiar rhythm that had Anthony pressing his cock harder and harder into Loki’s thigh and whimpering desperately.

The only sounds in the room were that broken whimper and the smack of skin on skin. Loki’s hand was starting to go numb from the abuse, but it wasn’t the slightest deterrent any longer. The tingle it left would be an all too short reminder of Anthony’s delicious ass beneath his palm.

“L-Loki? I’m so… P-please, Loki. Please?” Anthony’s voice broke repeatedly through the attempt at begging, and ended on a sob.

The query was exactly what he’d been waiting for. “Yes. Come for me, Love.”

With a shuddering moan, Anthony did as he was told. Loki felt the fabric of his trousers soak through, warm and distracting. As Anthony floated on a post-orgasmic high, Loki switched to rubbing soothing circles on the sensitive skin beneath his hands.

“Loki?” Anthony whispered after a long moment, still breathless.

“Yes?”

“I-I think I, I might…” Anthony’s voice grew softer with each word, and Loki knew. The words were there, and they were heartfelt, but they hadn’t quite ripened yet.

So Loki released him from responsibility for one more day. “And me, Anthony.”

He felt the sigh more than he heard it, and it was followed by Anthony’s torso twisting slightly, and loose-muscled arms wrapping around his waist. “How do you want me, Loki?”

“Asleep in the next ten minutes, I think. And don’t you dare sass me about my inability to keep you awake.” He wanted to release Anthony from any feeling of necessity.

When he felt Anthony’s shoulders shake in amusement, he was reasonably sure he’d succeeded. “Are you,” the sentence broke with a well-timed yawn, “sure, Loki?”

“Quite, my contented little cat. On your back so I can clean you up,” Loki demanded, and Anthony sleepily complied, only vaguely protesting that he could do it himself.

When he was done with the cleanup, he rolled Anthony back onto his stomach and gave his abused backside a once-over with the lotion they kept by the bed. Finally, he untucked the sheets and rolled Anthony—already sleeping—underneath.

Despite the lack of orgasm, he felt oddly sated. Not that he wasn’t about to go in the bathroom to take care of his little problem, just that he felt he’d actually accomplished something important. He had Anthony right where he wanted him: happily asleep, and apparently feeling secure in their relationship.

He finally got it. He’d always had this idea in his mind that when they had settled down, when they were truly happy together, Anthony’s submissiveness would go away. Like they couldn’t have a normal, healthy relationship just as they were.

He was beginning to think that it was a little like becoming an adult. He’d always been threatened with adulthood as a child. _When you’re grown up_ was synonymous with not just work and marriage and paying rent, but even more with boredom and stagnancy.

The truth was so much more interesting than that. It was about loving what he and Anthony already had, not feeling like he had to fix them because they were different than his idea of a _normal_ couple.

When had Loki ever wanted to be normal?

He’d been waiting for, and dreading, change that just wasn’t necessary. If this was the rut he’d always been afraid of, he was happy to dive in and spend the rest of his life there.


	12. Valentine

Loki knew what his idea of a future with Anthony looked like. The only remaining question was whether Anthony felt the same way.

It took Loki a while to decide how to test the waters.

They went through their usual couple things. They went out to dinner, even had another double date with Natasha and Clint—without the irritation that was Ben, it went flawlessly—and generally kept to their established patterns. That made sense. It was safe to keep doing what they were doing, and they both knew that they enjoyed it, so why change?

Because Loki wanted to change, that was why.

He wanted more. He wanted everything. He wanted to take back his permission to withhold the three little words they’d been dancing around for months.

At the beginning of February, he decided what he was going to do.

Anthony had expressed disdain for Valentine’s Day, and a disinclination to go out and do couple-y things on a specific date just because society told him to. Rebellion was always a good thing coming from Anthony. So when they were discussing their weekend plans and Friday night—the night in question—came up again, Loki shrugged half-heartedly.

“I’m not any more inclined to brave the restaurants or theaters on amateurs-in-love night than you are,” he said. “Why don’t we stay in and watch television?” He asked it casually, but not so casually that Anthony wouldn’t see that it was something he actually wanted.

Anthony, always eager to please, readily agreed.

So on Friday night, Loki showed up with a large pizza and a six pack of some obscure microbrew beer. He knew that it wasn’t what Anthony was expecting. He had heard that Loki wanted to spend the evening with him and probably assumed that it would be a night of nothing but sex. Loki pretended ignorance, though, and let the surprised expression slip past him.

They sat down on the living room couch, ate pizza, drank beer, and channel surfed until they found something amusing: some fashion reality show with a stereotypical cast that seemed determined to stab each other in the back in every possible way. It was awful, but worth a few laughs.

After an hour of that, Anthony started to get antsy. He slid closer to Loki on the couch, pressed up against his side, even went so far as to put his head in Loki’s lap.

Loki grinned at him, running a hand through his hair and then looking back to the television. He wondered how long it was going to take Anthony to crack and say something. Or better yet, just jump on him.

It was obviously driving his professor crazy, waiting for him to initiate sex.

By the time the clock hit eight, Anthony was buzzing with nervous energy. He was running a hand along one of Loki’s thighs, never quite doing anything overtly sexual but obviously angling for it.

When he unsubtly pressed his head further back from Loki’s lap—into his groin—Loki thought it wouldn’t be too much longer. He pretended only slight distraction as he reached his hand down and started running it loosely back and forth over Anthony’s ribs.

“Loki?” the request was in such a quiet tone that Loki almost missed it.

He looked down to find those mahogany eyes on his face. “Yes, Anthony?”

“May I?” Anthony finished the thought by making a motion to Loki’s groin, obviously offering his mouth.

It took every ounce of Loki’s resolve not to say yes. Anthony’s mouth plus ‘ _may I’_ had never ended badly for them, not once. But Loki wanted Anthony to ask for sex that he wanted, not offer sex that anyone could see Loki wanted.

The wording was crucial, though. Not encouragement, but not dismissal.

“If you like, Anthony,” he said, putting on his best indifferent look. “It isn’t necessary, though. I’m fine watching television with you.”

The look of disappointment was almost too much to bear. “Oh. If you don’t… I mean, if you don’t want me…”

Taking Anthony’s chin in hand, his pulled his face up so they were looking directly at each other. “I want you, Anthony. Always, completely. But sex isn’t the only thing I ever want from you. If _you_ want it, feel free to press the matter.”

“…to press the…” Anthony muttered, continuing to look confused. The hurt was gone, though. After a moment, his eyes narrowed, and he got a shockingly mischievous look on his face. “Okay, then. Maybe I will _press the matter_.”

Loki smiled indulgently. “Whatever you like, Love.” He pulled his legs further open, letting Anthony’s body fall completely between his thighs. It was ridiculously provocative, and rather transparent, but Anthony seemed too caught up in his own thoughts to consider it.

After another moment’s hesitation, Anthony decided to act on his mischievous thought and tugged Loki’s zipper down. It didn’t just turn into the determined-to-distract blowjob Loki was expecting, though. Anthony decided to take his pants all the way off. Pretending he didn’t care was a little harder when you were wiggling around trying to let someone get into your pants.

When Loki’s trousers and underwear were fully divested, Anthony went for the shirt. His dedication was impressive. He proceeded to fold each piece of clothing neatly, and then left the room with them. How… odd. Was he going to leave Loki alone until he got curious enough to go looking? Had he just made off with Loki’s clothes and decided to go to bed?

He returned a few minutes later, though, and dropped down onto his knees in the expected position on the floor in front of Loki.

It was unexpectedly erotic, having both of them naked instead of just Anthony. Loki glanced down at his professor’s face, and the playful look was still there. There was an adorable little smirk that sent a shiver down his spine, and a raised eyebrow that seemed to challenge Loki to say something.

“You said whatever I like,” Anthony prodded him verbally. “Right?”

“Of course, Love,” Loki let out a little sigh and reached out to run his hand through that messy chocolate-colored hair.

The only response was a wicked grin. He found himself entranced, in fact, by the expression on Anthony’s face. Part wild abandon, part anticipation, and part fear—but not the usual fear of reprisal. Loki wasn’t quite sure what that fear was about.

The first thing Anthony did, unsurprisingly, was lean down to take Loki’s erection into his mouth. Loki’s eyes rolled back. Gods, how was he _so good at that_? That was just a diversion, Loki realized a moment later when he felt a slick finger pressing into his ass.

Oh.

Oh!

The finger was slow, hesitant even, and, when Loki’s eyes flew open, he found Anthony staring up at him. The digit had stilled completely, and there was the beginning of an apology in the depths of those beautiful eyes.

So Loki grinned. “Mmmm, Anthony, you did decide to go wild, didn’t you?” He angled his hips up slightly to give better access.

Anthony’s eyes rounded. “Mmmh?”

“I told you whatever you liked, didn’t I?” Loki asked in as conversational a tone as one can when someone is sticking a finger up their ass. “Now are you going to get back to business, or just look at me all night?”

The finger slowly started to move again, no less cautious, but at least going somewhere. That one worked into Loki for a long few moments before Anthony tried to mimic the maneuver Loki used on him to reach his prostate.

Unlike every other thing Anthony did in the bedroom, this was tentative and awkward. When Loki’s brain connected the dots, his mouth worked faster than his common sense.

“Anthony, have you never topped before?” He could have hit himself.

The finger withdrew immediately, and Anthony pulled off his cock. “I’m sorry, am I hurting you? Or is it just bad?”

“Neither, Love,” Loki tried to make his voice encouraging as he shook his head. “I’ve just never known you to be so hesitant.”

“Oh. No, I-I’ve never. I mean there was a girl once in college. But I was fifteen, and drunk, so I don’t really…” he looked positively ashamed, recounting the tale.

There was also something blooming in those sad eyes that Loki didn’t like, so he decided to jump in. “Well you’re going to have to learn how to do it right, Love. Can’t have you feeling awkward every time you top, can we?”

“Every time? Like, you mean—”

“I mean every time. And since we’ve got all night tonight, you can learn anything you need to. Now first, you need your finger further in before that’s going to work.” Loki instructed as though he were teaching a class. _How to prep your lover for anal sex 101._

“Like, um, like this?” Anthony pushed forward a bit and tried again, and again. He was starting to look a little frustrated when Loki felt a sudden rush of pressure. “Wait, what’s tha—”

“Oh! You—you, ah, you found it.” Loki’s hips had a mind of their own, slowly melting down off the couch toward Anthony. It seemed his body had decided he’d been remiss in his failure to get Anthony to fuck him. “Unh… Now do it again, but add another finger.”

Anthony was like a child who had just been given a new toy. His eyes were wide and shining with wonder, and he focused like a laser beam on Loki’s every response. He was once more the Anthony that Loki had fallen in love with. Testing, and plunging forward, and testing again; always looking for the boundary, and when he found it, skirting the edge of it so closely that in just a few moments Loki was squirming and moaning his name.

At first three fingers were perfect, and then they were not enough.

“Anthony… Please, fuck me.” It felt odd, making the request, but it felt right in the moment.

“You’re sure?” Anthony was hesitant again, but there was a look of longing in his eyes.

Loki frowned and bucked forward into his lover’s hands. “Yes!” he leaned up as well as he could with his ass hanging off the couch and twined his hands into Anthony’s hair. “I want to feel you inside me, right now.”

Anthony made a small broken sound, and lunged forward to force his lips against Loki’s. He kissed like a man who knew he was about to die. Loki almost felt like he was under attack. His lips were crushed against Anthony’s. A forceful tongue slid into his mouth, sweeping though, claiming all territory in the name of Stark.

In a rare moment of submission, Loki simply lay beneath Anthony and let him have his way. Not that he didn’t respond; he whimpered at the invasion of his mouth, moaned when the fingers moved inside him again, and groaned out a protest when they slipped out.

“Loki?” Anthony looked to him once more for confirmation as he slid his cock into position.

Without doubt in his mind, Loki nodded. “Please.”

As the head of Anthony’s cock slid into him, their eyes met and held. He thought maybe they were both holding their breath, too. The glide of skin on skin was excruciatingly slow, but Anthony had been liberal in his application of lube—that solved the mystery of why he’d left the room before—so there was no excess friction. There was only the slight familiar stretch and burn of being filled.

It was different, though. He’d done the same thing before. Maybe his previous lovers hadn’t been so careful or thorough in their preparation. Maybe they hadn’t been as well-endowed as Anthony. But there was something else. Something in the fact that he’d actually had to work for it instead of accepting the come-on? That Anthony wanted it more than anyone else he’d ever been with?

No. He wasn’t fooling anyone with that anymore.

He’d planned Valentine’s Day for a reason.

He almost said something, but was distracted by the fact that Anthony had managed to press all the way in. They both sighed and closed their eyes, and before Loki knew it, Anthony was kissing him again. Slowly, he pulled back out and pushed in twice; a few strokes to get both of them used to the feeling before picking up the pace, Loki hoped.

“I—oh god, that’s amazing—I’m not hurting you, am I?” Anthony asked distractedly, as he—thank goodness—started to pick up the speed and build up a rhythm.

“No,” Loki shook his head vehemently. “Doesn’t hurt at all. Faster.” He probably shouldn’t be spewing demands so early on, but it slipped out without his permission. He had to have it.

“Loki,” Anthony whispered against his ear. “Incredible. Need more.”

More of what, Loki wasn’t sure. He was sure that he had a vested interest in getting Anthony more of whatever it was he wanted. As Loki had demanded and Anthony had implied he wanted, the strokes sped as they went.

Before long, Anthony was pushing into him so hard and fast that Loki thought he might end up with bruises on his ass. Goodness knew he’d left marks on Anthony often enough. He suddenly found himself desiring some of his own.

Every thought seemed to leave his head as fast as it had come, though, forced away by the constant motion of Anthony, filling him up in one second and leaving him empty and wanting in the next. He’d never been one to wax poetic about being stuffed full of cock, but he was quickly becoming a believer.

“Anthony?” he asked, whimpered really, between thrusts.

Anthony didn’t even slow himself, just looked down into Loki’s eyes. “Loki?” he panted.

“I love you.”

With a suddenness that took Loki’s breath away, Anthony cried out in ecstasy, pushing even more forcefully into Loki a few last times as he pushed through what looked like an amazing orgasm. “L-Loki?”

“Anthony?”

Shining eyes locked on his, Anthony was completely still for a moment. He reached down to wrap his fingers around Loki’s cock, which was still straining between them. His gaze flitted between the sofa behind them, to his hands, to various body parts, before finally settling back on Loki’s own.

“I’m in love with you.” He looked terribly worried, as though convinced that Loki was going to snatch the words back and leave him alone again.

Loki grinned instead. “Thank goodness. I was starting to worry that you were going to leave me to fend for myself.” He motioned to his still-stiff cock, making Anthony smile back.

“I’d never leave you hanging like that,” he said playfully. “Do, um, do you mind if I…?” He mimed a handjob, and Loki wasn’t sure what about that was supposed to offend him. Then Anthony, cheeks turning bright pink, buried his face in Loki’s shoulder. “I don’t wanna pull out yet,” he whispered into Loki’s skin.

“Then by all means,” Loki leaned his head back against the couch. “I trust you to handle the matter.”

After they both recovered from the giggles that caused, Anthony did indeed handle the matter. Reaching back down beside himself, he retrieved the lube bottle and slicked his hand. He rubbed his hands together for a moment to warm them and then tentatively wrapped the right one around Loki’s cock. It was immediately almost too much, and then he slid his left hand down to cup Loki’s balls, squeezing lightly. “Thank you, Loki,” he whispered.

Admittedly distracted by the hands on him and cock still in him, Loki barely managed more than a grunt of acknowledgement that Anthony had spoken.

It seemed that the lack of verbal response and enthusiastic way Loki was rutting into his hand gave him strength, because he grinned and squeezed a fraction tighter. “You were the best ever before tonight, you know,” he went on. “Nothing else in my past even seems like sex anymore. The only thing I think of when I’m alone at night is you, Loki. How do you keep doing this, making everything even better?”

The pressure in his belly growing steadier, stronger, Loki had to struggle to form a coherent response. “You. Always better with you. For you. Ngh!” He bucked up into Anthony’s hand as his thoughts flew apart, and he was reasonably sure that he once again professed his love. Good thing he’d already done that, or it could have gotten awkward fast.

When he opened his eyes again, he found Anthony looking down at him, eyes sparkling.

He was always so good at handling matters.

“So, um, you gonna start watching TV here a lot?” he asked Loki sheepishly.

Loki laughed. “If you’re always going to react like that, definitely.”

Loki would do whatever Anthony wanted to elicit such a response. Anthony loved him. No, he’d already known that, really. Anthony felt comfortable enough to _tell him_ that he loved him. He couldn’t keep his face from splitting into a goofy grin.

“You could if you wanted,” Anthony continued, his face going serious. “You know, watch TV here whenever you want.”

“Is that an open invitation, Love?” Loki asked playfully, mussing his hair.

Anthony shook his head. “Not… not exactly, Loki. More like… a permanent one?”

Loki was stunned for a moment. “Are you asking—”

“Yes,” Anthony answered before Loki even finished the question. “I-I love you, and I want to be with you. Every night. Even if we really did just watch TV.”

“Then yes.”

“Really?” There was shock in his eyes, and Anthony sat up a bit, reminding them both that they were in a less-than-ideal position that was probably going to make a mess if they weren’t careful.

“Shower?” Loki asked conversationally, and then added, “and yes, really. I can pack my things in a few days. We can do it whenever you want.”

“Can we do it now?” Anthony asked automatically.

Loki laughed. “If you mean you want me to start packing my things when I get home, and I’ll move in in a few days, then yes.”

Anthony was both disappointed and slightly embarrassed, so Loki decided to make sure he enjoyed his shower particularly well.

Then he made plans to go see Art the next day. Anthony did have a birthday coming up in May, and Loki knew just what he wanted to get him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All that's left is the epilogue, folks, will be up in about a week.


	13. A Very Important Gift

On Saturday the fifteenth of February, Loki had a problem, and its name was Frigga.

They were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. Loki decided it was a good time to inform the family of his plans, so he did it. The thought that anyone would be bothered hadn’t even occurred to him, especially with Thor off having lunch with Jane.

Big mistake.

“What do you mean, you’re moving out?” Frigga demanded in a near hysterical tone.

Aren’t parents supposed to want their kids to leave home?

Loki sighed. He’d gone home that morning for the express reasons of starting to pack and talking to his parents. For Frigga to overreact like that was a bit of a shock. “I don’t know how else to put it, Mother,” he answered. His tone was as soothing as he could make it, even though, after that outburst, he suspected that she wasn’t going to listen. “I’m moving out.”

“You’re too young,” she insisted, clutching the edge of the table emphatically. “You can’t do something like that. What if you can’t make rent, or… do you even have a job, Loki?”

Odin sighed and put a giant calming hand over her trembling fingers. “He’s obviously moving in with Tony, Frigga. And I am quite certain that Tony owns his home. There will be no concern of rent or bills.”

Frigga buried her face in her husband’s shoulder.

“And if the worst happens,” Odin continued, “which I don’t expect, he can always come back.” He then nodded approvingly over Frigga’s bowed head, the look on his face one that Loki only remembered seeing in association with Thor on previous occasions.

 “But what if—?”

“You have to trust Loki, My Love.” He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her in, somehow managing not to unseat her in the process. “We know Tony, he’s a good boy. Loki will still come home on holidays, and you’ll see him often. But you’ve always known that one day the boys would leave.”

Loki nodded along in agreement with everything Odin was saying, mostly trying not to burst into laughter at the irony of Odin calling Tong a ‘good boy’. When he was done, Loki added, “Remember, Mother, this means that I won’t accept any jobs out of state when I’m finished with school. I’ll be close enough to have lunch whenever you like and come home for every holiday.”

“I…” she sniffled, her head never leaving Odin’s shoulder. “I just always thought Thor would be first to leave home.”

Loki snorted. “Oh, Mother. Thor’s been looking hard at the ‘for sale’ sign on that house down the street. You’re never getting rid of him.”

She didn’t seem mollified, but she didn’t complain further. Loki was pretty sure he had made it abundantly clear that he was not going to change his mind, so that probably helped. But she kept sniffling every time she looked at him, until Loki got fed up and excused himself.

Her guilt game was strong, and he had folded to it often.

In the matter of Anthony, though, it was not going to happen. For the first time in his life, Loki felt like he knew what strength was truly good for: control over himself. His mother’s reaction wasn’t going to change his mind. He knew what needed to be done, and he was doing it.

It was just like in any scene. It was only when he realized he didn’t know what he was doing that he would ask for help.

Like the appointment he’d made with Art for later that day. He wasn’t fool enough to think he could make that decision without a little input from an experienced guy like Art. His research and, more importantly, his knowledge of Anthony told him that he had to get this right.

He’d been saving as much of his discretionary budget as possible, assuming it was going to be a huge investment. It was going to be worth it, though.

Once he got through the torture of lunch, he went to his car and retrieved the bundle of moving boxes he’d purchased that morning. No reason to put it off, after all.

His mother sniffled some more and looked away when he came through the kitchen with them.

He thought briefly about taking the boxes to his car in the dead of night, but dismissed it quickly. Love her though he did, he didn’t think that hiding his intentions was going to fix anything.

When he got to his room, he set up a few boxes and filled them with his older, less necessary items. He quickly realized that it wasn’t going to take much time at all. The larger pieces of furniture were completely unnecessary; Anthony had all of those things. All he really needed to bring was personal items.

Old books, saved scientific journals, and clothes could only take up so much room. It surprised him how compact and small his life seemed in terms of cardboard boxes. The one set of ten he had purchased was going to be more than satisfactory.

 

*

 

At 2:30 p.m. sharp, he set aside what he was doing, grabbed his car keys, and headed out. Thankfully, none of his family was anywhere to be seen. Bullet dodged.

The drive across town to see Art was a surprisingly relaxed one. Loki knew what he was doing. He wasn’t afraid of hurting anyone, and he was no longer (very) worried about Anthony running from him. Everything was coming together better than he could have hoped.

When he walked into the shop at three, Art was waiting for him at the counter.

He grinned at Loki. “So, an appointment to talk to me, eh? Need I ask what this is about?”

“I sincerely doubt it,” Loki smiled in return. “But just in case. We had discussed you getting a start on an item for me. I suppose it puts a lot of faith in your knowledge of Anthony and what you gleaned from meeting me once, but somehow I don’t believe I’m going to be disappointed.”

The older man laughed at that, and it put Loki back to mind of his original impression when his belly jiggled like… well, anyway. “Why don’t I show you what I have?”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Loki agreed.

Art pulled a bundle of silk from under the counter and slowly peeled back the layers.

He revealed a mahogany leather band that Loki was certain was just a shade or two darker than Anthony’s eyes. The metalwork was done in an antique-looking brass that let the gleaming red-brown of the leather take center stage. The clasp was fitted with a small lock in the same metal, and there was a tiny bit of scrollwork in the leather on either side of the D ring in the front. All beautifully understated and just so… Anthony.

Loki was not at all disappointed. “You’ve definitely known him for a long time, Art,” he whispered, reverently stroking the buttery soft leather. “I cannot think of anything that would fit him better.”

Art smiled softly. “Well I figured if he was gonna be wearing it for the rest of his life, it ought to suit him.”

Loki nodded. “Then it should last that long? No concerns about it wearing out and needing a replacement?”

“Only if you’re particularly rough with it, but I don’t think the two of you should have a problem. And if you do, I’ll fix it or replace it.” Art chuckled, handing Loki the bill. “These ridiculous prices of mine aren’t just materials and markup. They come with me.”

“Your prices are of no concern,” Loki shook his head dismissively as he handed over his debit card after only a cursory glance at the cost. He had enough in his account; he would make the rest work. “If it makes Anthony happy, it’s worth every penny.”

Grinning as he handed him the credit card slip for his signature, Art nodded. “And that’s how I know I won’t be making him another one.”

“I certainly hope not,” Loki agreed.

He took the slip after Loki had finished with it and tucked it into the cash register, then paused and looked at Loki consideringly. “You’re not going to give it to him for his birthday, are you?”

Loki froze. “I… well, I suppose that—”

“Don’t,” Art shook his head and slashed the air with his hand emphatically. “I don’t like to give unsolicited advice, but don’t. Tony’s birthday isn’t a time he likes to celebrate. Any other day of the year is fine, but for his birthday, I think the best thing you can do is pretend it isn’t special at all.”

Loki nodded. He was curious, but he knew Art wouldn’t give him any more information even on the off chance that he had it. It was between himself and Anthony, after all.

He drove back to the family home in quiet contemplation. He supposed he’d have to rethink the date of his gift. Still, Anthony would get it sooner or later. Whether Anthony would be getting the collar was not in question.

 

*

 

Frigga was quiet at dinner but, much to Thor’s confusion, kept shooting Loki baleful looks.

The whole thing was awkward and slightly annoying, so Loki excused himself early and went back to packing. He wondered absently if she realized that her pouting was going to make him work faster at packing his things.

After showering, he made his nightly call to check up on Anthony, who was always a balm to his soul when he was unhappy.

“What have you been up to, professor mine?” Loki opened with the nickname instead of calling him Anthony, a cue that they had both picked up easily. It set the tone for everything that followed.

“I hope you’ll be pleased, Loki. After I finished grading papers, I started to clear space in the closet for your clothes.” Anthony went breathless at the end of the sentence, obviously hopeful that his efforts were pleasing.

Loki smiled. “That, my dear professor, is exactly what I wanted to hear from you. Will you have enough room for me?”

“Yes, Loki! If I have to, I can always move more of my clothes into the closet in a spare room.” The hope in his voice was so endearing.

Oh, who the hell was Loki kidding? Everything Anthony did was endearing.

“Half the closet is plenty, as we discussed last night.” Loki continued setting books into a new box as he spoke, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder. “Did you remember to eat dinner?”

“Yes, Loki. I had pad thai from the place on the corner near school.” There was a slight hesitation before he added, “And a beer.”

Loki chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d have combined the two, but that all sounds excellent.”

When Loki went back for more books to add to the box, he found that he had finished the shelf. Four and a half boxes of books. Another two boxes of clothes, his laptop and tablet, and maybe a single box of personal trinkets.

His whole life boiled down to less than ten boxes. He was easily going to be done by Sunday evening.

“Is there anything else you want cleared for your arrival, Loki? A bookshelf? A desk?” Anthony sounded positively excited.

Loki supposed he was. The idea of a man moving in with him probably hadn’t been an option previously. “A bookshelf would be convenient, though I suspect some of my books will be duplicates of yours.” He was surprised to notice he hadn’t considered that before. “I suppose I should have checked, rather than move them and then need to get rid of the extras.”

“I would give you a list of books I own, but that would take longer than I hope the whole move will, Sir.”

_‘But’_ , was it? Loki grinned. Anthony was telling him that he didn’t want to do something unreasonable just to make Loki’s life easier. His heart swelled with pride. “Not going to make me a list, then?” He tried to make sure the amusement showed in his voice.

Anthony hesitated just a second before answering, “No, Loki. I would prefer not to.”

“Good. It would be an immense waste of your time.” Loki pressed his one extra blanket into the half-full box of books. Looking around for the tape, his eyes fell on the sturdy leather case the collar had come in, still sitting on his bed. Smiling softly, he tucked that into the blanket and then taped it all shut.

“Would it be acceptable if I asked you how long you believe this will take, Loki?” Anthony asked, that excitement in his voice growing.

“It would be. And… less time than I had believed,” Loki sighed, looking around at his empty bookshelves. “I have only a few trinkets left to pack: a painting, a few awards. Then my clothes, and that will be all. I may finish packing tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” Anthony exclaimed, and Loki could hear bed springs squeaking in the background.

Loki masked his amusement and asked, “Anthony, are you bouncing on the bed?”

There was a long pause, followed by, “…Maybe a little?”

 

*

 

In the end, Thor helped him take his things to Anthony’s on Monday.

Thor worried that it was ‘so sudden’, and Frigga wailed about it being ‘much too soon’. Okay, maybe _wailed_ was an overstatement, but Loki hated to disappoint her, so every tear felt like an accusation of abandonment. Odin, though, just gave him the same approving nod as he previously had.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” he’d said quietly, when Frigga and Thor were arguing about whether Loki’s painting would fit into the car on its side. “But if something happens, you’ll always have a place here, even if you just need a night or two.”

There was an annoying stinging sensation behind Loki’s eyes. He wasn’t overwrought by his mother’s tears or his brother’s concerns—they were both expected and unnecessary. Such a thing from Odin was something entirely different.

“Thank you,” he whispered, making sure his voice didn’t crack through sheer force of will. “I appreciate it, Father.”

Firmly grasping his shoulder, Odin nodded seriously. “You may not be our son by blood, Loki, but you are the son we chose. We love you. _I’m_ proud of you.”

Aware that if he tried to speak, his voice would betray him, Loki just nodded.

Odin snorted. “And for what it’s worth, you’re going to graduate first. Thor got so distracted with Jane that he’s going to have to retake a class over the summer.”

For the first time in years, the two of them genuinely laughed together.

Loki had left his car at Anthony’s home—at _their_ home—so that Thor could fit all of the boxes in his excessively-sized SUV. He expressed his concerns all along the drive, but Loki couldn’t bring himself to worry about it.

Anthony helped them unload everything on the other end, and he was practically buzzing with excitement. His happiness seemed to rub off on Thor, who grinned widely at him as he asked where to put the boxes.

They decided that the boxes of books could go in the library to be sorted and shelved later, so Thor carried them in and stacked them in front of the bookshelf nearest the door. The clothes went to Anthon— _their_ bedroom, and the painting, they decided would go well on the empty wall over the fireplace in the office.

Thor even stayed to help them hang it.

As he was leaving, he retracted his previous concerns.

“He’s just like you, brother. It’s the house I imagined you living in when we were children.” Thor looked to Anthony, framed by the doorway and looking like it was Christmas morning. “And… he is so happy to have you here.”

“This is it for us, Thor.” Loki smiled and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We’re in this for good, and we know we can make it.”

Thor gave his brightest guileless grin. “I have known you long enough to know that when you take that attitude, brother, you are right. Mother will want a big wedding, you know.”

Loki snorted. “You and Jane can give mother a big wedding. You’ll like that. Big fluffy white dress and all. I won’t even suggest that you should be the one wearing it.”

In standard Thor style, the answer was raucous laughter.

After Thor went on his way, Loki and Anthony went to their bedroom and meticulously hung Loki’s clothes on the opposite side of the closet from Anthony’s. The domesticity of the work was enormous, but for some reason not at all overwhelming. Like everything else they’d done to arrive at that point, it was just the next logical step in their relationship.

He had always heard that moving in together was supposed to be dramatic and stressful, but it felt like the most natural thing to do.

They settled into a day-to-day that didn’t give them a lot of time together, but that was because Loki was once again trying to cram all the credits he could into a single semester. He was going to win, after all.

 

*

 

On May 15th, he arrived home after his _final_ final exam in a buoyant mood. He was finished. He had already been accepted into the university’s graduate program, and Odin had assured him that the offer to pay for Loki’s education continued for as long as he was in school with a sound plan for his future. Life was once again changing, and once again it would be for the better.

He found himself whistling as he came through the front door, but he stopped short as he dropped his keys in the bowl on the table. Anthony was not in his place waiting.

Loki knew he was home. The Audi was in the drive.

Maybe he’d forgotten that Loki was going to be early, since he had the exam. Maybe he hadn’t heard Loki’s car in the driveway.

Or maybe something was wrong.

He checked the living room and kitchen, and almost headed upstairs to check the bedroom, but something stopped him. Slowly, hesitantly, he went into the room that served as library.

Anthony was sitting on the floor, still wearing his suit from work. Half of Loki’s books had been either neatly shelved or set aside as redundant. Then, obviously, Anthony had arrived at the box that was half-full with books, half with a blanket wrapped around the…

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the open leather box containing the collar. _His_ collar.

Loki was reasonably sure he didn’t even know he wasn’t alone.

“Anthony?”

The professor startled, looked up at Loki, and then jumped to his feet, snapping the box closed and dropping it back onto the blanket. “Sir! I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you. I didn’t know. I-I-I didn’t mean to—I just wanted to surprise you by finishing your unpacking. We’ve both been so busy that I didn’t…” He finally broke for breath before hanging his head and reiterating, “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what, Anthony?” Loki asked curiously.

“For going through your things, Sir.” Anthony’s eyes were downcast, and a flush was starting to spread across his cheeks.

Loki sighed. “I’m sorry Anthony, I wasn’t trying to demand a more thorough apology. I was trying to say that you’ve done nothing wrong.”

Anthony’s head snapped up, and Loki could see the denial on his lips.

“I’ve never asked you to stay away from these boxes. I should have done this myself months ago. I’ve been distracted, and this is completely my fault.” He took a step into the room, and when Anthony didn’t flinch back he took it as a good sign.

Anthony’s eyes fell back to the box, and then up to Loki again.

Loki went to stand behind Anthony, wrapping his arms around his lover’s waist. “I didn’t mean for you to find it that way, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look through anything in this house you want to.”

“But you didn’t want me to have it…” His poor professor’s voice was strained

“I did,” Loki denied. “I simply hadn’t found the right time yet. I thought I might wait until June.”

“June?” Anthony looked at him hopefully. “You want to give it to me soon?”

Letting one hand drop from Anthony’s waist, Loki picked up the box. “I wanted to give it to you in February. I just didn’t want you to feel like I was pushing you too quickly.”

“You’re not! I mean, you’re not, Loki.” Anthony had started talking almost before Loki was finished, and finally cut off the flow of words with that nervous lip bite.

“No?”

“No!” Anthony insisted, once again adding later, “Loki.”

“Well then why don’t we do this right?” Loki ran a hand up Anthony’s neck and tilted his head back until their lips could meet. He kissed him softly and breathed, “I’ll meet you at the front door in five minutes.”

Anthony nodded vehemently for a moment before running off, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

Loki grabbed his spare key and went around the house to let himself in again, box in hand. This time, he found his Anthony kneeling on his cushion, head down, and obviously trying not to grin.

“You look lovely this afternoon, Sweet,” Loki started with some benign greeting he often gave.

Anthony responded in kind, “Thank you, Loki.”

It was all part of their regular ritual. It was kind of strange, but it fixed everything. Loki had been nervous to add the collar to the mix, afraid it would bring up things Anthony didn’t want to think about. Then there was the simple fact that they had only been together half a year, and the offer of forever was a big one.

In the end, though, the ritual made everything easy.

“I brought you a gift, my sweet professor,” he continued smoothly, as though they didn’t both already know all about it. “Would you like to see it?”

“Yes please, Loki.” Anthony’s voice was breathless with anticipation.

Loki walked over to him, slowly opening the case. One of Anthony’s hands rose in what looked like reflex, wanting to touch. “Do you like it, Anthony?”

“I like it very much,” he whispered. “It’s for me, Loki?”

“It is. I had Art make it just for you.” Kneeling down next to his professor, Loki held the case between them. “Because I would like for you to wear it. Would you like that?”

“Please, Loki,” Anthony nodded vigorously. “It’s perfect. I want… yes. Please.”

Loki smiled as he unclasped the collar and wrapped it around Anthony’s neck. Their eyes met and caught as he clicked the lock closed.

“Mine,” he whispered.

“Yours, Loki,” Anthony agreed.

The white wedding his mother wanted for them had absolutely nothing on that moment.

That moment was just for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. This is the last chapter, the epilogue will be up tonight. Pluma said I had to give you guys the collaring scene, and it was hard to do in a way that didn't feel like a giant cliche, so here it is. Hope you like. :)


	14. Ever After

Just over five months after the momentous-not-momentous moment when they decided to move in together, they were once again sprawled out on the couch in the living room, Loki in his pajamas and Anthony in his bright red boxer briefs.

Loki was sitting on one end, one foot on the floor and the other stretched all the way to the opposite end of the couch, legs splayed wide to accommodate Anthony lying between. Anthony, in turn, was lying across the length of the couch and using Loki’s thigh as a makeshift pillow.

It was a familiar position for them, and many an evening they slipped into it without even discussing plans for the night. Loki would grab a movie, Anthony would get drinks, and they would meet on the couch to snuggle and pretend to watch something.

On the night in question, they were actually watching a documentary special on the effects that the war in Iraq was having on American culture. Loki absently stroked his professor’s hair as they waited through commercials, each more ridiculous than the one before it.

When the local news broke in, he cringed. Nothing good ever came of the local news.

Sure enough, the first thing that popped up was a picture of Obadiah Stane’s ugly face. Loki stifled the irrational urge to cover Anthony’s eyes as though they were watching a horror movie and the dismemberment scene had come on.

Anthony stiffened slightly, but instead of turning grey or changing the channel, he squeezed Loki’s hand and watched. His body slowly relaxed as his hand lifted to finger the brass d-ring on his deep brown leather collar thoughtfully. It was an unconscious gesture he’d picked up since he’d started wearing it in May, and it seemed to calm him when he needed it.

“…and at his sentencing today, Obadiah Stane made a mockery of the justice system, interrupting Judge Coulson to say that…” Loki stopped listening altogether and just watched Anthony. It wasn’t as though he gave a damn what Stane had done, or what happened to him.

Anthony held onto Loki’s leg with his free hand, but the pressure he’d started with slowly lessened as the seconds passed.

“He’s really out of his damn mind,” Anthony said, voice a little surprised. “Why didn’t I see that before?”

“Because you were too close to the situation, Love.” Loki answered without question. It was always why he changed his mind about things later. In the heat of a moment, you can’t think clearly about everything that’s happening to you.

Humming contentedly, Anthony burrowed his face into Loki’s leg, turning slightly away from the television, though it was still going on about the bastard Stane.

“Loki?” Anthony asked, his voice taking on the tone Loki had come to instinctively recognize as a need for Loki to dominate more fully.

Who was he to deny anything his Anthony wanted?

“Yes, _Professor Mine_?”

“Could we skip the rest of the thing and go screw?”

Loki grinned. “Such language! We’re going to have to do something about that, aren’t we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay you guys, there it is. The very last part of my favorite story. 
> 
> All my gratitude to Pluma, AgentRomvnoff, Temul, Callistontheweb, FoxyOwl, Morbid-Undead, all my lovely doxies, and everyone else who has been instrumental in the ongoing creation of this story. If you read it, thank you. If you reviewed or left kudos, know that you've helped to get me through a very difficult transitional year.
> 
> You're all wonderful, and I dearly hope that when the story becomes a full length original novel you'll join me. If you'd like to know when that happens, feel free to leave an e-mail address in the comments or pm me on tumblr, and I'll send out an e-mail.
> 
> Thank you all!


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